I've been thinking back to L.A. a lot recently and wanted to share this video to share my thoughts. This is a music video for the song "Long At All" by the group Everlast (whom I had already admired), which features one of the most endearing personalities of Los Angeles' Skid Row. Pepper is a regular at the LACW "Hippie Kitchen" and a friend of all who work there (and friend to some of the guests).
My favorite Pepper story that I experienced was on a hot day while I looked after the kitchen's gardens while guests were having their teeth fixed by a volunteer dentist. Pepper showed up with a 3 gallon bucket of ice cream (only God knows where he got it from) and proceeded to make sure we shared it with every last person we saw.
During my time with the LACW, I also remember Pepper living in a teepee on the Fourth Street Bridge and donning a full-sized pirate flag on his shopping cart. The stories are endless.
Enjoy the song.
