Dear LA… 

Mikey Goode is a country singer/songwriter from Central Indiana. Since 2017, he and his family have taken up traveling the country in an RV to have real interactions with real people of all walks of life. He is currently on his “Trailer Parks & Tall Tales Tour” that recently made a stop in the LA area. He hadn’t planned to come to LA, but his daughter’s online friendships she developed during lockdown brought them all the way to Topanga. While here, he not only fell in love with the area, but also its people. Upon leaving, he wrote this poem to LA.

Dear LA…

I didn’t have high expectations

for you.

I came down to meet up

with a cool friend or two,

but you had a whole different plan

for me in mind

I figured I’d see bums

on every street corner

with bikers, hippies, queers & stoners,

and I did and it turns out that they

were all pretty cool and kind.

It’s clear that your rainbow

has many colors,

but all that you showed me

were sisters and brothers,

all doing their best to survive

in this world for a while.

From the Mexican workers

who harvest our fruit

to the rich folks who ride the waves

in Malibu,

neither of them greeted me

with less than a smile.

I relished in songs

on the side of a hill

where @thegreenhornbrothers showed off their skills

with harmonies strong

and music that was so wild!

I sat among bikers & hippies & queers

and stoners who smuggled in

bottles of beer

and I never once had to fear

for the life of my child.

No one was there to start up a fight,

we were just down to share

in a great night

of music and tacos and laughter

and joy and fun.

And later when we said

our last goodbyes,

there was nothing but love

in everyone’s eyes

just like you’d imagine the look in the eyes of God’s son.

So many memories were made

thanks to you,

some of them I still can’t believe

that are true.

Thanks for the warm welcome

for both me and my girls.

You helped me to have

more appreciation

for the beautiful folks

on this side of the nation.

I’m grateful you also taught me

to stop clutching my pearls.

I gotta go now

as we’re all hitched up,

so I’m sayin’ goodbye

as I jump in the truck

I’ve still got some shows left to play cross-country ‘til June.

I came out here to write you a song

but I came in with my heart all wrong,

so thank you, LA,

for helping me change my tune.

You can find Mikey’s most recent album, Redneck Rockstar, on all digital streaming platforms. He is currently writing for his second album, Long Stretch Of Highway that he plans to record later this summer.”

#TrailerParksAndTallTalesTour