At the intersection of the 405 and Bellflower Blvd. in Long Beach, brittle fragments of white shell scatter the ground where water has not run for a century. These shellfish deposits give archaeologists an insight to late period people’s’ lifestyles, subsistence and the landscape they navigated.
It’s easy to bypass the seashells that sit at the intersection of Bellflower Blvd. and the 405 freeway in Long Beach, where over 60 years ago archaeologists uncovered the remains of 21 individuals.
After schooldays of ladybug hunting and playing hopscotch, I would go home to an always early dinner that was a nightly epitome of the well-rounded meal.
A rainbow of spectators fidgets on the white leather couches as they wait for the drag queens to take the stage. A faint spotlight swirls on the cement floor and around the unbecoming wood pillars that hold up the small club on Ocean Blvd.
In lieu of its hues of red and pink, lovers and singles alike may be enticed to paint this year’s Valentine’s Day with 50 Shades of Grey.
My host brother, Josué, bears the heat so I could sit inside of the truck.
First it was the heat.
I knew there were some adjustments to be made. I was packed like I was very poorly packed for a backpacking trip, one pack with my computer, lenses and other survival gear that I wouldn’t end up needing, another with too much clothing.
Collie Buddz jumps off stage, through the photographers’ pit and onto the railing to passionately sing “Blind To You.”
A friend of ours told us that she had the time of her life in Rurrenabaque, Beni, and on the Jungle tour, so we decided to spend one of our last weekends in a more pleasant climate.
The original article, “Moving past bad blood, ladies of the Long Beach derby scene unite in the name of skates,” was published in the Long Beach Post with several significant errors. Below is a revised version.
Shayna “Pigeon” Meikle.
The Stoked Daily. 