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I lived at 6th and Main, pretty much in the heart of it. Yep, the loft was amazing - view of city hall, 14 foot ceilings, huge windows that opened, a bathroom the size of the living room I had in Redondo Beach. This was 1986 to 1988 or so.

There was a crack "hole" in the empty parking lot next door, underneath where they had torn down a building, from my loft you could watch people go into the old basement / hole and smoke up. You could watch the dealers all day long. You could watch the hookers and listen to them fight with their pimps. One time I was out walking on Main St. in daylight hours and there was a cop walking on the street and I said "Hey, do you guys know about his crack hole over here, where all the crack heads smoke crack all day long? Why don't you send someone over and arrest them? He said: "yeah, we know. We will". Eventually they did.

I had a fun time there, it was weird and art infested and I made some great friends, but we all grew up and left.

I was in my late 20s. I carried a Smith and Wesson 9mm with me at all times. I never shot anyone, but I pulled it with the intention after being followed by some black parasite for a few blocks. I pulled it out of my pocket, turned around and drew down right in his ugly face: "get the f*ck away from me or die". He got.

The parasites all knew each other. Word spread. I was left alone. I'd walk down the streets and the cretins would say "Five Oh, Five Oh" ie: he's a cop. Pretty much any large white man with a gun walking there was a cop from their point of view. The bartender at my favorite watering hole was in the same position. The cops new we carried and didn't give a damn. People hate on the LAPD, but at least in the 1980s they were quite reasonable for productive humans.

Friends were mugged in broad daylight. Large men. It was no place for woman, ever.

I took my kids back, at noon on a Saturday to walk around. They are grown now. It was worse, more horrible, a deeper level of Dante's inferno. The stench of excrement was overwhelming in some areas, so was the physical presence of it on the sidewalks. Absolutely disgusitng.

Hopefully that line from a movie happens: "Some day a real rains gonna come and wash all the scum from the streets".

Failing that, a neutron bomb would do wonders.