Armen stood gazing at the dry concrete channel of the LA River. A foul smell overcame him as he heard a voice behind him say “beautiful, isn’t she?” Armen twisted around to see an old homeless man in a fedora. “Yes. I guess.” Armen’s answer encouraged the old man, who elaborated. “That is the City of Los Angeles, right there. That’s what she’s all about.” The old man kicked an iron drain. “Los Angeleez Department of Water is Power.” Armen looked down to see a slightly different phrase embedded in the iron. He looked up and smiled in return. “Is that what it’s called?” The old man showed Armen his broken grill and answered. “That’s what them that matters calls it!”
The incident with the old man piqued Armen’s curiosity, and he began to spend his spare time reading about it, which of course meant maps as often as books for Armen. He began to ride his bike up along the LA River on his days off.
The River follows Ventura Boulevard to Sherman Oaks, where it crosses under the Ventura Freeway and then under the San Diego Freeway. Armen stuck to Ventura Boulevard till Encino, and then turned right on Balboa Boulevard, and crossed the San Fernando Valley to see the terminus of the LA Aqueducts. When it rained, he would pedal through the rain to see what became of the River on rainy days, and then he would return to see how soon the channel would dry out.