I'm working on a "Then and Now" feature for the Times, which is a good thing because the men working on my house have this pesky habit of expecting a paycheck.

But the truly fun part of the story, of any story, really, when you're a journalist, is the way you get to see the hidden parts of the city, like the top of the lovely hand-carved carousel on the Santa Monica pier, where this workman is ministering to the moving parts of what is, after all, a museum piece.