Undaunted Joy #120

A Long Forgotten Story About an Old Parking Attendant

“Joy” by Jean-Louis Toutain

Years ago, when we first got married, my husband and I lived in a loft building in Downtown LA. We have many stories from that building, including some famous people that lived there and wild nights filming movies in our alley way but many of you have already heard those stories.  I want to tell you about the parking attendant.

Back then, my husband and I did not drive much.  We lived just blocks from his work and he worked a lot. We mostly walked around downtown and occasionally, took our car out of the garage on weekends to go grocery shopping or visit his family.

We did not have assigned parking. We parked our car wherever possible, three deep and toss the keys to the attendant. When you returned sometimes a week later, your car was moved to the nether depths of the garage, wedged behind several cars. The attendant always knew where it was and the keys to those parked in front of you. He’d disappear for a few minutes and then return with your car.

Those aforementioned celebrities or people with fancy cars had theirs parked right in the front of the entrance so we could all gawk at them. It classed up the joint and made us all look far fancier than we were.

I do not remember the parking attendant’s name but I do remember he was from Argentina and was no nonsense, not particularly friendly. So, it surprised us one day when he told my husband and I a story about some people in his homeland. 

He told us of a group of people who moved to Argentina from Switzerland. They brought a kind of small cow with them that they bred and milked and sold cheese from the milk. “They were happy chubby people,” he said with his thick accent pointing at my husband, “They looked just like you!”

The attendant meant this in the kindest, most direct manner that only those of you who have not grown up around only white people understand.

I remember a few years ago, a Filipino man asked me if I had lost weight, I said I had.  He said, yeah he thought so cause I wasn’t as fat in my face. I understood he was giving me a very high compliment.

My husband has never been a skinny guy and he is happy.  He understood what the attendant was trying to say.

We think about that moment often. Sometimes my husband will simply say, in a heavily accented voice, “Happy Chubby People” and we both laugh.

This is what I thought of when I saw this sculpture “Joy” by Jean-Louis Toutain. They are happy chubby people.

Just like us.

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Another mini-review for those of you who enjoy them. I was completely surprised by how much The Picture of Dorian Gray still held up 200 years later.

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You may know I love to travel. This is why writing about “Finding God in the Airport” for Loyola Press was a delight. Read it here and if you want to buy me a place ticket to come and visit you....my bag is already packed. https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/finding-god-at-the-airport

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