Malibu

Ha. What a unique little town. This small scrap of land (27x1miles) is the home of some of the wealthiest people on earth.  It is really just a long strip of beach houses and expensive places running north up PCH (Hwy 1) from Santa Monica, past Zuma Beach where they filmed “Baywatch.”  The movies and folklore talk it up to be some glamorous retreat by the sea where you bump into celebrities at every turn.  This is not true.  What follows is a true and accurate report as seen through the eyes of a small town Southern man.

Malibu is a strange place.  The only real road as already mentioned above, is the Pacific Coast Highway.  It happens to be the most expensive road per mile to maintain in the USA. It is also usually packed with some kind of slow moving obstacles such as maniacal cyclists and/ or tourists, and really old people in fancy cars, plus the traffic of locals headed to the world famous beaches.  One wouldn’t put up with all this hassle if it weren’t for God’s beautiful handiwork in the combination of cliffs and ocean.  The views are pretty nice every day of the year and really gorgeous on the days that aren’t nice in other parts of America.  For example, I wore short sleeves and flip flops on Christmas day, New Year’s, Jan, Feb, and so on… and wore a light jacket in the evening and morning in June, July, Aug, I think you understand… It is PLEASANT.

What is so startling upon one’s first visit to Malibu is how it casually drips with money.  It is far less ostentatious than some Southern neighborhoods (think Mt. Brook, Eastchase, Buckhead), yet the parking lot of Malibu Country Mart is overflowing with luxury. There is almost always a half dozen Mercedes products, a few Range Rovers, BMWs, Audis, and a token Ferrari… usually red, just sitting there like a big Euro Motors dealership.  More amazing, no, no, brazen would be the choice word here, is that the boutique clothiers here get away with charging over $300 for pants, $700 for boots, or $895 for a new leather bag at Ralph Lauren of all places!  It is shocking, absurd, ridiculous, and laugh inducing, while at the same time a bit pitiful that some folks buy this stuff.

Ralph Lauren has capitalized on the notion that great showman P.T. Barnum once quipped, “There’s a sucker born every day!”  True words. Oh, so true.  I find this so amusing because I own clothes quite similar to the ‘vintage’ stuff being offered. But, I paid no more than $40 for any one garment or bag.  In fact, I have an Israeli surplus canvas bag that cost around twenty bucks, and well worn Carhartt pants that run in the neighborhood of $35 each.  It is a pity I can’t sell it all to Mr. Lauren!

:o)
Shalom