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 SOAPBOX - MINK STOLE gets the last word
The All-American Indie Queen Decides You Can Go Home Again
I’ve lived in Los Angeles a long time, but the chances are pretty good that I’ll be moving back east to Baltimore. My mother is still there. I have a sister and a brother there. I have a sister and a brother here as well. My mother’s fine, but she’s nearly 90. I was just thinking that when you get to be my age and you’ve always had your mother alive, you kind of think it’s not possible that she ever wouldn’t be there. The reality of that fact is rather horrifying to me—the idea that she one day will not be there on the other end of the phone is just too difficult for me to grasp! So I thought it might be a really good thing for me to go back and be with her for a while, while she’s still healthy.
Parents die when people are in their 30s and 40s. I’m older than that! I feel that there’s a contract that if you’re here this long, then you have to stay until I’m finished! She’s just always been there. I left Baltimore 30 years ago, and the world’s gotten considerably smaller since then. I can travel in and out of Baltimore almost as easily as I can travel in and out of Los Angeles. I love Los Angeles, though, and I love living here. I’m not leaving L.A. because I don’t like it.
Over the years that I’ve been here, I’ve been seeing my favorite places disappear, though. I used to have a favorite diner, which is now being turned into condos. That was a place where I used to dash over and have breakfast. I’m sad to see these places leaving because they’re part of the character of L.A. They’re part of what makes the different neighborhoods unique.
There’s a Starbucks on every corner. If somebody dropped you down in the middle of a large American city, without the geography you’d have no idea where you were. My mother was very proud to tell me that there was a Starbucks up the street from her, and it made me sad. I don’t like Starbucks. I think their coffee is over-roasted and bitter. I’m a Maxwell House girl. I love diner coffee.
Every mall has a Victoria’s Secret, and now Target is becoming as ubiquitous as anything else. I like Target; it’s a fun store, but it used to be special and now it’s, “Let’s go to the corner Target.” I’ve still never bought one thing from a Wal-Mart. I actually walked through once just to see if I could survive it. I did.
If what I need is small, I’ll go to a neighborhood hardware store, because I believe in supporting neighborhood stores. I like browsing. In a recors store, I like putting on the headphones. Same with bookstores. We still do have independent bookstores, and it’s important to go when we can. But when it’s just as easy to go to Borders, it’s really hard to remember.
I think everywhere will still have one independent bookstore, but eventually America will just be one big megalopolis and we’ll just drive from one mall to the next owned by Dick Cheney. That’s kind of scary! He’s a very frightening man. I think he’s pure evil. As far as my work, I actually don’t have anything coming up. With this possible move, I’ve been reluctant to make any plans. My frame of reference is a little skewed since I might be moving in as little as a month. I want to get to Baltimore before the fall because I would like to see the fall. But I’m also sorry to be leaving L.A., so I’m very torn.
It’s a beautiful city—people laugh about Baltimore—but I’m actually rather looking forward to being there. I’m looking forward to being around my mother and reuniting with old friends.
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Catch Mink being motherly herself, with Jim Verraros, in Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds, out now on DVD from Ariztical Entertainment
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