by bETO

“I’ve laid around and played

around this old town to long.

summer all most gone

and winters moving on.” by Bill Monroe

I love Southern California but Venice, my lovely Venice: the last refuge of innocence, is home.

A few months ago as the crow fly’s, the friends next door had their house sold out from over and under them. Family members/co-owners wanted to strike while the iron is hot. (RealState’ prices are up) and before it rusts away, the house was in shit shape.

Not knowing what they had the out of towners sold low (east of Lincoln by the park) for under 800,000. The RealState flippers put some chump change in and sold for over a mmmmillion dollars (still they were pissed they didn’t snatch more).

The new owner (pissed that the work on the house had been done so poorly) are planning to rent the house out weekly and monthly like a hotel 4 Mucho bucks. There goes the neighborhood.

But not in a Hells Angels, meth lab, frat boys kinda way. The RealState hoards have descended offering pie in the sky fore you die (that’s a lie) up to that million everyone lusts 4, or is it 5.

When I was asked “Why do you care?”

I tried not to wax poetic as I am wont to do.

Said “When we landed indigents (the homeless or soon 2be) see a family dethroned 2 have their home  flipped for a fortune, I am sorry for them but I am sadly enraged for my beloved Venice.  There goes my neighborhood.

As the richer and still richer buy up the housing where will the artist, poet, the musician go. When $800.00 dollar rooms are no more even just dreamers will have to retreat Eastward and down.

Just in case I’m sounding like Chicken Little (“the sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.) My landlord roommate recently informed me that “Now that they are ’making offers that he can’t refuse’, I should start thinking about moving by February”.

There goes my home!

Not the first time.

New York’s East Village became Tribeca with table‘s and chair’ s in front of every coffee house, restaurant and bar (humbug).

In Gloucester Mass: torn down was an unbelievably lovely Old home 4 Fisherman, to make a parking lot, much of the fishing village that the tourists came to see has been torn  down 2 make a spa

hotel where they could stay when they came 2 see the fishing village most of which is gone 2 make room for the place 2…

In Isla Vista they doubled the student enrollment leaving no place for we Outside Agitators 2 live.

On 2 Venice where anyone can become an artist if they have a million or so 2 buy an Artist loft. I was living 100 yards from The Venice Beach in rent controlled sober apartment building. The legendary Venice musician Slavin’ David held weekly AA meetings in his livin’ room.

Venice Suites turned it into a high priced hotel.

Now if you allow me a few more lines and a little more of your time tell you about a new project being proposed for Main street. A developer wants to take a whole block and put in multiple story’s of condos with lots of stores at street level. It will happen but I hope not soon. Slow down.

There goes our Venice.

“Sad to say I’m on my way

won’t be back for many a day.

My heart is down

my head is spinnin’ round”

may have to leave my lovely

Venice town.

(after) Harry Belafonte

PS The Chair of Venice planning told me “it’s not the whole block. Just 2 stores, but 3 or 4 stories high. Almost nothing. Slow down. bETO”