April 14, 1961: Like some huge, weird, robot-like monster in a dream, the steel and concrete pillars and bridges of the Santa Monica Freeway are advancing slowly westward from Figueroa Street to Venice Boulevard, laying waste all before them.

In the monster's path at the moment and soon to be swallowed is the area between 21st and 22nd Streets and Mariposa and Normandie. The streets are deserted and still. The houses have been vacated and the windows, shattered by youngsters throwing rocks, are jagged and gaping. Some bear signs, "Danger. Keep Out." Here and there are discarded household articles — a ripped old sofa or a bathroom fixture.

An onlooker gets a bombed-out, end of the world feeling but it's only part of the changing face of Los Angeles, Matt Weinstock says.

 
CONFIDENTIAL TO TINA: Your friends are right. When a girl accepts an ankle bracelet from a boy, and wears it on her LEFT ankle, it means they are going steady.