Photo: Echo Park Boathouse, Sept. 9, 2007
By Martin Cox

Chicken Corner is out of town for a few days, relying on long distance reports of the neighborhood, like Martin Cox's observance of the last day for the paddle boats, which included an ambulance, fire truck, news media. Don't go quietly. (But they do.)

Martin emailed me:

Last day Sunday: line forms at 11 a.m. outside the boat house. At noon it opens, then something odd happens and a fire truck arrives. Boathouse closes, an ambulance comes -- something about a spill and some fumes. Probably gasoline for the outboard motor boat [which is used by Rec and Parks employees]. Trucks leave, boathouse remains closed, reporter from LA Times HOY shows up. I tell her all she needs and more but she wanted boat pics, so she left for MacArthur where LALOP [Los Angeles League of Photographers] photogs are shooting (they meet her too and call me). She calls twice to find out if boats are running. They are not. I leave for a while. Returning at 3 p.m., I see the first boats launching, then, by the time I reach the boathouse, all 13 working boats are out on the lake. A huge line forms. I go home, returning at 3;45 and line up until 4:14 with maybe 25 people. No one gives up, it's very upbeat. The life guards are actually reminding boaters of their time and calling them back, very festive.

I suddenly decide on a whole new photographic solution to this subject matter, and return at 5:30 and end up shooting 300 pictures over the afternoon.

The sun sets, the boats moor, people go home, the boathouse closes, and the curtain comes down.