OLD MAN RIVER 

Lewis MacAdams Fights Against the Current to Save the Los Angeles River

En route to a meeting with co-founder and President of Friends of the Los Angeles river, Lewis MacAdams, at the Los Angeles river Center and Gardens, I am overrun by stampeding children. The herd demonstrates an apparently unbridled enthusiasm for spouting water as they gleefully prance from the parking lot directly toward the mission-style fountain located in the common area of the miraculous urban oasis located near the confluence of the Los Angeles river and the Arroyo-Seco (570 West Avenue 26). The grounds are so charming that on more than one occasion I forget for a brief second exactly where I am. Though I am not qualified to dispense relationship advice, I can’t help but imagine this being an ideal romantic locale for a date if one’s intent is to “score.”

The river Center and Gardens host numerous community events and is also the headquarters for a variety of non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving and restoring the river, including: Friends of the Los Angeles river (FoLAR); Los Angeles Conservation Corps, National Park Service: rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance; and Northeast Trees. In short, the place is fervent with positivity and, at the risk of sounding silly, good vibes.

One child notices a caterpillar and a collective, elongated coooool is overheard. An appropriate expression, I think to myself, given that the man I’m about to interview quite literally wrote the book on cool.

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