Entrepreneur of the Week

It was do or die today for Eugene, the street merchant selling umbrellas in the rain on the corner of Western and Hollywood Blvd. After all, how many days like this do you have in Los Angeles to move your inventory?
It was late in the afternoon when the Camden, South Carolina native confided that sales hadn't gone quite as well as he had hoped despite the downpour. Yes, he had sold a few, but didn't set any records. Is that a sign of the times or do Angelinos just stay indoors during inclement weather, we wondered? "Why do you want to know?" he asked, displaying a note of street savvy, "are you from the newspaper?"

Stan noticed traffic was light as he took today's five-mile hike west down the Walk of Fame to the corner of Hollywood and Vine, then north past Capitol Records (grabbing a frame of the distinctive tower to prove he'd really gone the distance), then under the Hollywood freeway, past the turn for the Hollywood Bowl, then back on Franklin Avenue and a brief jog to our Normandie apartment.
Downtown LA got over a half an inch of rain today. The sun's coming out tomorrow. That won't bother Eugene. He's probably got a full inventory of designer sunglasses ready to go.