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Nestled in the hills of Highland Park in Northeast Los Angeles is the funky, bohemian La Tierra de la Culebra Art Park, otherwise known as the Land of the Serpent.
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My son and I visited recently and realized a strange parallel between our experiences and Max's from Maurice Sendak's kidlit classic,
Where the Wild Things Are. With sincere apologies to that book's creator, here's a super-abbreviated and paraphrased account of our day among serpents:
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Max made mischief.
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"I'LL EAT YOU UP!" he said.
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That night a forest grew in Max's bedroom.
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When Max got to the place of the wild things, they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth...
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Max tamed the wild things with a magic trick of staring into their eyes...
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Max, the king of all wild things, cried, "Let the wild rumpus start!"
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Soon, Max grew lonely and wanted to be where he was loved best of all...
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He traveled in and out of weeks and through a day...
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And when he got home, his comfy chair was waiting for him, along with his supper-- and it was still hot.
Okay, so there was no comfy chair waiting for Max, but it's supposed to be symbolic of the comforts of a parent's love, blah, blah, blah. Also, I just thought the chair in the park was so cool that it had to be included.
If you "book" a trip to the Land of the Serpent, let us know which book you take along to read, or which book best reflects your experiences there.
"Booking" a trip elsewhere? Let us know about it.