Blog Entry 9 - Kidnapper Bell & City of Commerce

The City of Commerce for me, gave great detail of past and present.  Although I have never visited that area of L.A. before, I can visualize in my mind what it looks like by the great detail given.  Examples of detail which I found interesting include; 1. Judging by what the main character's wife (Karen) said, I got the feeling that they lived in a city which was probably far from rural Ojai. 2.  I got the sense that the couple lived near the City of Commerce, where apparently a casino or two was.  3.  By the description given on page 230, Commerce use to be a industrialized city with industrialized jobs, but now its changed, and has a couple of casinos.  On page 231, it describes how you have to go thru downtown to get to Commerce.  As I read further, Commerce is a "sooty," industrialized, less definitively part of L.A." (pg. 231).  As the main character further explains, "I get to Commerce, the empty concrete lots, smoke stacks, and shaddy public park.  What else can I think about in such an environment but poker" (pg. 232).  This tells me, this place is nasty!  In regards to The Kidnapper Bell, for me this story focused more on a particular area within a city (L.A. River), rather than discussing a city in itself.  Good descriptions are also revealed, for example; "shallow river that cuts into downtown, on its way to the ocean" (pg.209).  I felt like although the author mentions Chinatown, I got the feeling of more of a description of the restaurant, than anything else.  "Dark corner of favorite bar, wobbly square table, cigarette smoke filling the room."  However, the description of the L.A. River and of what had taken place there, made me feel scared of ever wanting to visit a place like that!  Examples are; East of Chinatown, dark left takes them down an industrial service road, then bike paths that run along the crest of cement lining deep, empty river basin, knee high barrier loose of chain link tops.  Of course, the list just goes on and on.  This place just seemed very creepy, and nasty, and its that creepy, nasty feeling that reflects one of the really bad parts of L.A.