“As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, I did not even realize some of those mountains were there until years later when the air was finally cleaned up.”
That was completely true.
Just a few miles from the San Gabriel mountains and most days you couldn’t see them.
Now only a few days a year is it too smoggy to see them.
It just sounded strange...I thought “didn’t your parents tell you?” How old were you when you realized there were huge mountains beside the city? Did you ever watch the Rose Bowl Parade on TV and see them?
I get it...lower automobile emissions over the last 50 years have made the air cleaner in LA. (but I’m betting you knew all the time that those mountains were really there)/s