I, like many others, always thought Hollywood was a shithole. An endless mass of trash and homeless, a place I never thought I would live, even on the outskirts. I thought this of L.A. before I moved here. That it was all the same, a gigantic sprawl of crap…And it is in some ways…But not…

Continued from Part Four. After a few drunken days with the boys in Maryland, I said my silent goodbyes (they were asleep) and drove to Tallahassee in one big go, about 14 or 15 hours of straight driving. The old gold Golf held true. Route I-95 the whole way until Jacksonville, then a big right…

Continued from Part Three. Yeti emerged from his slumber around noon, disheveled and confused. A mass of man, chin, and fur. “When did you get here?” He said. “You let me in.” “Oh.” The first floor apartment was small and dim. I sat up in the wan light and pushed aside space for my feet.…

Continued from Part Two. The next blizzard started as soon as I hit Western Massachusetts. This one was a complete whiteout. Big, dry walls of snowflakes opposite from the heavy, wet, slick dump that occurred in Northern Vermont two days previous. The throttle on the old Golf held true and didn’t stick, although it was…

Continued from Part One. I woke and went to the mechanic early to get a jump on the day, eager to get some miles behind me. Ah, there she was in the parking lot. My magnificent steed! The little trusty gold five speed VW Golf. A triumph of German engineering from the late eighties. Dull…