20th Century Book Tour Diary

Paul Krassner, Tina Turner, Henry Miller, Kennedy, Dan Quayle, Susan Dey, an Empowerment Zone, Joan Jett — there wasn’t much I missed.

Your fans will ask for things. You will be touched.

Labor Day, Los Angeles, 1996

This is where my tour began, on the freeways where I grew up. I lost my virginity in Los Angeles, sexually and politically.

I lived in LA in the 70s, when Hollywood was still only an esoteric colony. The County of Los Angeles thrived on shipyards, aerospace, tourism, oil fields, education. I could hitchhike from the Strip to Topanga Canyon Beach and get a different ride every time, a new set of eyes.

Now the whole sprawl is a company town, as surely as Harlan County, USA. If any other industries exist, it is only to feed Hollywood. A shipyard can make some real money as a location. A university is a postproduction fat farm. You can make real money in servitude to the stars.

So how is L.A.'s love life?

I went to Skylight Books in Los Feliz, and my old high school Spanish teacher, Mr. Gomez, showed up for my reading. I hadn’t seen him in 20+ years! Ben was so handsome, with his silver hair and orange guayabera,…