Happy Hanukkah, People (or not)!
I have not lit the candles yet. I hope to. Sometimes its just weird to do alone or with someone who’s not Jewish but I’ve done it before and I find it moving so I will try to get at least one lighting in.
I did something I have never done before. I rode in a parade. I know a lot of you are probably thinking ‘that makes perfect sense.’ Maron is made for parades. I’m surprised he’s not riding in parades every few weeks. I have to say I was nervous for a few reasons.
I was asked to be the Grand Marshall of the NELA Christmas Parade a couple of years ago. This is a small parade that runs down a few miles of Figueroa Ave. right through downtown Highland Park. At that time I had done a season of Maron and I definitely was a Highland Park person but I still didn’t think I deserved to be in the parade. You see, the weird thing about living in a neighborhood that has a shifting cultural profile is you don’t want to feel like you are part of the group that is changing for what some people who were there before think are bad ways. I guess what I am saying is that when I moved here there were no hipsters or hipster shops. I bought my house on a fluke. I was driving around some dude who was looking to rent and I fell in love with my house. I didn’t even know where I was really but I loved the area. It was long before the hipster invasion. I respect the people of Highland Park but I definitely felt like a visitor or a guest. And the last thing I wanted was to be paraded down the street like a guy claiming to be part of the community.
So, I guess what made it different this time is I thought about it and I realized I’ve been here for 11 years. I love this neighborhood. I work here. I shoot my show here. I talk about it all the time. I’m not a native but I am definitely a resident and part of the community. So, I got in a Bugatti kit car and was driven down Figueroa, behind the cops on bikes and in front of a high school marching band, waving. I was one of the Grand Marshalls! There was a sign on the side of the car that said ‘Marc Maron Podcast Artist.’ Every few blocks there were announcers speaking through a PA announcing me as the comic who brought President Obama to the neighborhood and interviewed him in his garage on a podcast. Right after it was announced, it was announced again in Spanish. I waved.
I love it here.
Today I talk to the live-wired writer Adam Resnick about his book, ‘Will Not Attend: Lively Stories of Detachment and Isolation.' I love that guy. On Thursday I have an amazing talk with film director, Danny Boyle.
Enjoy!
Boomer lives!
Love,
Maron
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