1982 at The Bird House on 5th & Main

In 2003 the Los Angeles City Council designated formerly known “Skid Row” as “Gallery Row”

when the artists took over pigeons lived there
I paid $200 a month for a big empty space
and toilet down the hall
some of the artists were junkies
when I got home late I smudged off my makeup
hid my jewelry
and practically ran to the loft
I got many parking tickets on Winston St.
I had a party for my sister
people lit firecrackers and climbed the fire escapes
it pissed off the junkies
I got a tattoo around the corner
we wrote poem graffiti on the walls
had sex on the roof
hip cafes would have been good
we could have panhandled