LA Dreaming - What I didn't expect to find.

by Tamara Wise (Australia)

I didn't expect to find USA

LA Dreaming – ‘What I didn’t expect to find’ By Tamara Wise After avidly dreaming of my first trips to the states for over 20 years it had finally come to fruition…Hollywood was top of my bucket list, after all…it was the area of LA where struggling actresses becoming overnight sensations and mere mortals could rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous. Anticipation loomed as I adapted my facial features to present an air of Californian cool and wandered down to the famous strip anticipating my life would change for the better. Stars were everywhere…but only in the form of man-made plaques cemented into the ground. What had often been described in guide books as the pinnacle of Hollywood glamour and a must see, were in fact grimy germ ridden pieces of metal. Entranced tourists ignored the health risks as they lay, touched and kissed the ground in a bid to take the perfect Instagram shot. Slowly walking around tourists with a desire to see the sites I was bombarded by spruikers selling imitation Oscars, actors dressed as Hollywood royalty insisting I needed an overpriced photo and the waft of Hot Dogs with a Mexican twist. Hollywood in the heat of summer was rivaling the frustration of arguing with a Thai cab driver who would insist their cousin’s restaurant was better than the one I had requested to visit. Sweating profusely and finding a gap among hundreds of camera happy tourists eventually saw my vision of Hollywood being truly shattered. Shaking, screeching and pointing I had now lost all sense of Californian cool as I was greeted by a sight that the guide books has failed to mention; a lone man cuddling his emotional support animal. Now before venturing to the United States I had been fascinated by the American population’s acceptance and affiliation with emotional support animals. Coming from a country where mental health issues are rampant and often fixed with pats on the back from your mates, a couple of cold beers and oversubscribed medication. Emotional support animals were a fascinating idea and I had heard many a story from worldly travelers about miniature horses on planes and pet cats on leads. I was an avid supporter of this novel idea until the man in question laughed at me and shouted “would you like to pat her”? Shaking my head vigorously in what was meant to be the world wide recognized symbol for ‘No’, I sidetracked quickly onto the road and started power walking amongst the cars back to the safety of my hotel. While I previously understood in theory the benefits of emotional support animals I have now adopted a different view thanks to my Hollywood adventure. For while this particular gentleman may emotionally benefit from this loving creature as he phrased it, I however…will forever fearfully be on the lookout for 3 meter Pythons when venturing down Highland and Hollywood Boulevard.