A Tourist in Your Own City

At my office in Oakland my coworker and I enjoy a show called Battlestar Gallactica. I'm trying to catch up with the season 3 and at lunch we discuss what happened but the main character (Edward James Olmos or Admiral Adama) was interviewed in the LA Weekly about his role after the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.

One of the most curious sights captured by TV news cameras during the 1992 Los Angeles riots was that of actor Edward James Olmos standing on West Adams Boulevard, near the First AME Church, holding a broom. It was Friday morning, the day that Governor Pete Wilson would ask for federal assistance to help restore order and Rodney King would ask if we all could get along. Olmos had spent much of the preceding 36 hours on the go, shuttling between TV and radio appearances, imploring listeners to stay in their homes. “If you’re going to go out and get something because you can,” he remembers saying, “at least come back to your house once you’ve got what you want.” Then, as the sun rose on day three of the violence, he started sweeping.

He also made some comments about the old pacific electric lines that used to criss cross the region. He seems to sum up the streetcar experience quite well. So Olmos/Adama has today's quote of the day regarding his trips on the Red Car. "You were like a tourist in your own city". I know that's what i feel like when I ride the J-Church next to my home in San Francisco, I just couldn't put it into words.