Photographer Irina Logra
Venice Canals, California
Can asthma be constructive?
Let me tell you a story. Some 150 years ago a young American gentleman took an educational trip to the Old World. During the following three years he learned six languages, explored European cultures and fell in love with Venice and its canals.
He returned to Washington and became a prominent tobacco businessman, misogynist and racist. But this is not how we remember him.
Apparently, a man can change. Nowadays, Abbot Kinney is known as a great developer, conservationist, advocate for women's suffrage and African American rights.
This mental transformation is remarkable. I might tell you that story someday, but it is not the purpose of this very post. This time I want to remind you of the beauty of his most famous venture - bringing European romance to the Californian Wild West. Thanks to Abbot Kinney, we have our own little Venice with picturesque canals and cute wooden bridges.
What does this have to do with asthma? Abbot suffered from it since childhood. The attempts to find the cure took him to a resort in the Sierra Madre, a cute little town near Pasadena. His tormenting asthma symptoms disappeared overnight. After this magical cure, Abbot relocated to Southern California and started developing the West Side of Los Angeles County. If it hadn’t been for his asthma, he would have probably stayed on the East Coast and we would be without the Venice Canals here in California.