Patterns

Sometimes it's the odd things that catch your eye. I liked that this man's jacket matched the colors and pattern of the stair rails of the Porto's Bakery parking structure.

If the shoe fits...

I'm not sure what was going on... I took this picture at the old zoo picnic area. This was a group of maybe five guys all dressed up. taking pictures or maybe a movie. They were doing all sorts of crazy things. Anyway, the shoes were fun and quite interesting.

"Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life."
~ Unknown

Thank you for serving

At the Concert in the Park tonight, there was a lot going on. For me however, the most moving part of the night was when the conductor asked everyone to stand who had served or is serving our country in the different services.

As she announced Army, my dad stood up. As she announced Navy, this man stood up. All the men and women standing were so calm and matter of fact about serving. It's our country, and they fought to preserve our rights and freedoms. We all clapped for them but I really just wanted to go and hug him.

They didn't come tonight to get recognition, but I'm glad they got it anyway. I'm so thankful for people like my dad and this man and the sacrifices they made for me.

Community gardens

Yesterday I visited the Bell Gardens Community gardens. It is not Downey, but it is close. Bell Gardens is directly west of Downey and shares the Rio Hondo riverbed. On the Bell Gardens side of the river, one of the things you see as you walk along the bike path is the profusion of flowers and vegetables planted in this community effort.

It was fun to wander through the gardens and see the variety of plantings and to realize how much activity there was on a week day. There were quite a few people working their plots, culling, weeding, picking the fruits of their labor.

One of the guys we met was Manny. He had planted mostly onions, big purple ones. But, he also had these beautiful red gladiolas all around his plot that he was cutting to take to his mother. I think the thing that surprised me the most was how old these gardens are. Manny has had a plot here for 14 years! I never even knew this existed  until a couple of years ago.

Valet parking

Porto's Bakery not only brought crowds to downtown Downey, they also brought the only valet parking garage. For $4, you can avoid having to drive around and around the parking structure looking for an empty parking space. Or, heaven forbid, you could park on the street and walk off those tasty Cuban pastries!

On the level

Downey is getting another new restaurant, called La Barca. The site, which formerly housed Szechwan Chinese Restaurant and then (for a very short time) Portofino’s, is now considered part of the downtown Downey area. The restaurant, which will include patio dining, is supposed to open in April or May, just in time for summer evenings. Currently, it's getting a complete facelift, which of course includes making sure everything's on the level.

For more information, see the Downey Patriot article La Barca opening restaurant downtown.

Shadows

The other day I noticed this tree and its shadow, outside of the empty Von's Market. When I went back the next day to take its picture, this old man kindly walked into the frame at just the right moment.

A dozen puppies

One day last week my friends went for a walk and came across a dozen Golden Retriever puppies. This seemed like a worthy Downey Daily photo op, so yesterday we walked over there ourselves. Unfortunately (for us), by now seven of the puppies have left for new homes, and only two of the remaining puppies were awake.

The two 8-week old puppies had a blast playing with their stuffed possum, chasing each other around the yard, and in general creating mayhem. But they were cuddly too, and so cute!

Note to self: This could have been a "100 strangers" post. Next time, don't get so caught up in the puppies that you forget to find out the name of the very nice guy who took a few minutes out of his day to share his love for his puppies with us.

It beats fighting traffic

Since we started this blog, I've become aware of all kinds of communities out there in the blogosphere. Of course, there are our fellow "city" bloggers. (Some of our favorites are listed in the sidebar to the right and bottom.) And there is the 100 Strangers community, who make a point of reaching out of their comfort zone by asking permission to photograph strangers. I've been inspired to start my own list of 100, by some of the city bloggers who also photograph strangers (Paris and Tucson, to name a couple). I started a couple of weeks ago, with Fabiana. Today, meet numbers 2, 3, and 4.

I met these people this afternoon while I was "commuter watching." The cars go by quickly, so what mostly caught my eye (and my camera) were the people taking advantage of slower means of transportation. Melvin Tyler, above, was riding his bike. The two guys to the right, who declined to give their names, were waiting for the bus to take them home to Los Angeles.

I think all three of them thought I was a little nuts.

Right there waiting for you (Theme week: feet)

This young man was sprawled on the display ledge of a women's dress shop in Stonewood Shopping Center. He was playing with his cell phone, patiently waiting for his girl friend to finish shopping.

Crossing guard

Jose Rosales has been guarding the kids at Rio Hondo Elementary School for five years now. Whether you're young or just young at heart, he always has time to chat.

Where the sidewalk ends

With all the construction going on in Downey, I thought I would show the people behind some of the work. Here, the men are smoothing out the concrete sidewalk and creating rivets so the seeing-impared can tell where the sidewalk declines and the curb ends. They even offered my hand print and name in the cement.

A mechanic you can trust

I don't know much about cars, so it's important to me to have a mechanic I can trust. I've been taking my cars to Steve at Steven Luzzi Automotive, on the corner of Paramount and 2nd St., longer than I can remember. Of course, it wasn't always called Steven Luzzi Automotive. Until last year, when he changed the name of the business 18 years after buying it, my friends and I called it Pardella's. (In fact, for the longest time, we thought his name was Steve Pardella.) Thanks, Steve Luzzi, for taking such good care of me and my cars!