"Ain't much shoe leather in this town."

Peter "Red" Wiggins.  Originally from St. Louis.  Hollywood Blvd.  4:30 p.m. on a Tuesday.

The Hulk... more frightened than incredible

I bought some knock-off action figures downtown on Broadway.  My favorite was this scary Hulk.   Especially when I snapped the close-up and lost some of the color.

Still Kicking Satan's Sorry Ass

You may have seen this postcard before.  It's been floating around for years.   Someone gave me one a long time ago and I became obsessed with the kid on the front known as Larry Larimore, Boy Preacher.   It took a while but I tracked him down, luckily just outside of Los Angeles.  

Almost sixty years after that postcard photo, Larry is now a co-minister with his wife Gloria at the the New Life Christian Center in El Monte, California.   I sat through their sermon on Sunday morning with maybe fifty other people and listened to both he and his wife take turns in the pulpit  --  Gloria was even touched by the Holy Ghost (my personal fav) and spoke in tongues.   It was mostly gobbly-gook with some Spanish sounding words tossed in for the mostly Latino audience.  She was really going to town when I looked over and noticed Larry fighting to stay awake in his throne-like chair on the stage.  Just when I thought we'd lost him, he shouted out an "Amen!" that jolted him back to speed.    

Here's Larry and Gloria today.  I spoke to Larry after the service and he said he traveled all over the country singing and preaching as a kid and it was a great way to grow up.   Up close, he was bigger and heavier than I had at first realized, but was completely gracious and very sincere.  He seemed humble even -- something you don't find in many preachers.    He said he'd gotten out of the ministry for a while in the 70's and 80's selling real estate, but that he was delighted to be back doing what he considered his life's real work.   

And no, he's never seen a penny from the image used on those postcards. 

Um... I'll take the one-eyed duck

Bob Douglas and his air gun attraction.  Saturday afternoon on Venice Boulevard near Alvarado.  Bob owns his own booth and paid $250 for his spot at the El Salvador Day Street Carnival.