This comes from the land called a few days ago, but the river is timeless. Or so said Heraclitus. A few days ago KCET's Departures offered a testimonial to a Los Angeles River tour.

One man said being on the riverbed beneath the 6th Street Bridge felt like being in a cathedral.

A woman said the riverbed was picturesque.

The Departures segment reminds me of the movie Drive, which had its charms. One sequence in the film shows Ryan Gosling's unnamed character taking Carey Mulligan's and her "son" down to the river. He wants to show his neighbors a place that's meaningful to him. Down in the concrete basin, there are trees and other flora, a bit of fauna, random garbage, and a moment of grace. It shows what a tiny, corrupted piece of Earth this character commands and that he is sensitive to beauty.

And that's our river.