"hey mama."

I went for a walk to clear my head. It was beautiful today, not a cloud in the sky. I dress down, pull my hair into a messy ponytail, thrown on dark shades, and head out sans makeup (I don't want any attention, I want to observe and not be observed). Waiting at the corner for the light to turn, a man walks by and says to me, "Hey mama." I stiffen up for a nano-second, then I remember - I'm in downtown Los Angeles.

I return the compliment, "Hey daddy-o." He continues to strut down the street, a sixty-ish man, dressed to the nines in his pin-striped charcoal, single-breasted zoot-ish suit, red tie, red feather tucked into his grey hat. I love my neighborhood.