MINDING THE GAP

Eagle Rock

Northeast Los Angeles, California

 

This walkway is a gap like many gaps in Los Angeles. It’s a passageway for coyote, skunk, opossum and people. Elderberry, Mountain Mahogany, and Peach hang over the fence providing food and shelter for birds, squirrels and rats. The soil that gathers on the concrete wall under the Elderberry creates the nook for ants and spiders to do their work. When it rains here, the water flows to create a creek that runs to the drain near Fair Park Avenue. To witness the tenacious California Morning Glory coming up through a few inches of soil, despite the concrete underneath, is humbling. 

 

The words that are engraved on metal plates and mounted on the fence come from spending time here. They are poems that acknowledge the beauty of this place. They have been created with gratitude and respect for the Tongva and their care of this land over many years past, present and future.

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​“Minding the gap is a daring strategy. We have to pay attention to the space between where we’re actually standing and where we want to be. More importantly, we have to practice the values that we’re holding out as important in our culture. ” Brené Brown, Daring Greatly

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