I was driving east on Magnolia in Burbank today, and had to marvel at the scrupulously clean curbs that were free of litter. I stopped my car, parked and took out my camera just to get a closer look.
At the corner of Evergreen and Magnolia, there is a former fresh fruit and vegetable stand that has been empty for a few years. It is for sale. Yet the curb in front of this property is swept as clean as if the owner were still there everyday with a broom and dustpan.
Then I drove home to Van Nuys, past the slum mall at the NE corner of Victory and Kester (14851 Victory). I have written about this place before, with its trash filled curb and unemployed men who sit five feet away, waiting for work. It is a disgrace.
Imagine if something like it existed in Burbank. Impossible! The crew cut, blue eyed mobs in VFW baseball hats, with Old Glory pinned on their perma-pressed khaki shirt lapels, would come out of their model airplane and train emporiums, and sweep up the mess themselves.
In all fairness to Van Nuys, not every curb is filled with trash. At Hamlin and Kester, next to the playing field of Van Nuys High School, the curbs were clean today. But if Burbank has slum malls, they are certainly hidden behind layers of fresh paint and pride in property.
Here in Van Nuys 