Jimmy turned from his eighty-eight key music
synthesizer and squinted through the sunlight pouring from the screen door of
his Echo Park apartment. He had chosen this neighborhood in haste, and it had seemed
like a good idea at the time. The area was renowned for its history of creative
residents, and the current inhabitants took great pride in maintaining a
positive image for Los Angeles as well as the rest of civilization. Of course,
criminality was a factor, as it is in any urban area, but Jimmy felt relatively
safe most times. He hoped the spirits of Steve McQueen, Art Pepper, and Frank
Zappa would guide him in this new environment and spur him on to success.
