Thoughts

MONTEBELLO
We rented the movie "Sideways" yesterday. Towards the end of the movie, Thomas Hayden Church's chracter gets married in an Armenian church. It turns out, that church is in the greatest city of them all -- Montebello! In fact, it is literally down the street from where I grew up.
They stand in the parking lot where you can see houses with typical Montebello architecture (pretty much the houses next to Ricky's house). And when they leave the parking lot (actually the Taylor Ranch parking lot), he turns left onto Montebello Blvd. and passes by the sign that says "Avenida de la Merced." So, not only is my city now world-famous, but so is my elementary and intermediate school.
But this is only half the story!
I was so excited that I called my parents to tell them. But when I talked to my mom, I got a very unexpected response. She gave me a lecture about the benefits of living in and raising a family in Montebello. She told me how I shouldn't make fun of the city because it is a better area than many others, has a mall, a Costco etc. She admitted there are bad areas in South Montebello, but the Northern area is a great, stable suburb to grow up. I couldn't stop laughing. I did my best to assure her that everybody knows this is a great city and we only poke fun at it for laughs. We're not really serious.
She was unconvinced.
So, the next time you want to make fun of Montebello, remember that you'll be offending my mother if you do!