We are now at the new Star Alliance Lounge in LAX, and were chauffeured here by a man of Iranian descent who took the name of Luke Christopher Skywalker, legally. So, a rather fitting way to be sent off from the capital of entertainment. In fact, Hollywood where we stayed, like so many other bastions of economic power (think of banking, real estate) are managed, even owned by one particular people of the Middle East: the Jews. We know them to be God's promised people, but what really is the secret of their success?
It was at the beginning of our trip, in São Paulo, where our guide pointed out to us that the swankiest street, Oscar Freire, in the most expensive city in all of South America are largely owned by the Jews. As we got chatting during the day, he also pointed out to us that the Jews send their kids go to the best private school where they work hard to get good grades. It doesn't take too much imagination to understand that all these assiduously attained knowledge are employed gainfully towards the right economic gains; such that they end up owning best real estate in town be it in Sao Paulo or Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Therefore it was no surprise to hear that their job is to be landlords rather than the common work the rest of the population have to perform.
So, there you have it: smart, hard work. But what of God's promise then? Here's how he has delivered...
Speaking of the common folk, what passes as normalcy here in Hollywood, is beyond our comfort zone. Ambling along Hollywood Boulevard, we bump into a leather-clad woman, with her bandana-wrapped denim boyfriend sharing the sidewalk with a group of more conservative looking women (but for tattoo-filled arms). Here in Hollywood, and I'd venture across all of America, individuality rules! D, the queen of headlines, proclaimed it "more reel than real"!
And for good reason: we saw our fifth ocean-front beach at Venice Beach yesterday but the views just aren't the same as those at Copacabana or Miraflores. Here, the scenery has far less drama and instead one looks to the people for the interesting views. In L.A., everything is just so much more man made than even when we saw our first church, it competes with the famous Hollywood sign on top of the hills. We didn't visit the church for here it seems the religion is something more basic: self, money and time
Perhaps it is to this philosophy that has made the US the superpower of the world in a mere 200 years. Yes, they were brutal in taking over the lands from the natives, in fact far more brutal that the Spanish Conquistadors were in Peru, we were told. But that hard charging, relentless pursuit of 'milk and honey' stuck, and much of what one needs to succeed in US today is through self endeavour, clearly the exemplified by the tech entrepreneurs just north of here
That doesnt mean they got nothing from the ground. Many of the richest tycoons made their money in oil. There are in fact still active oil wells in the city centre and the Rockerfellers and Gettys of the land are still swimming in this resultant wealth...
... So much so that they feel compelled to give back. And how they do it in style: Getty built a museum to house his works of art and then opened its doors for free to the public.
"Its not what you look at that matters. It's what you see", it states at the start of the orientation film to the Getty Centre and this line really summarizes well our trip to these continents of South and North America. Yes, we looked at all the sights many have seen and many will. But what we really saw will be uniquely in our hearts (and some of that in these blogs).
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