I love Monrovia

People smile in this town. They give you directions. They eat ice cream.

My first dinner here was more than one year ago. I sat near the window of the Tidal Wave restaurant, and watched passers-by on the sidewalk.

"It's like Pleasantville here," I told my dinner companion. "Look, there are actually people holding hands, kids, oldsters, and everyone looks sort of content." We both stared in silence, bemused.

Having spent a great deal of time on the West Side, Downtown, and Hollywood, I was used to an entirely different vibe. It made me want to shift in my seat. I was in Los Angeles, but it felt like a small town. It even had a higher cute factor than Pasadena, and that's no small feat, given its popularity.

I decided to stay.