WAITING IT OUT

With someplace like Georgia on his mind, legendary soul singer Ray Charles yawns as he awaits a flight at LAX. A fisherman tests his patience against the finned inhabitants of Santa Monica Bay. Oblivious to clocks or meters, a man takes time out in East Los Angeles’ Mariachi Plaza. A man becomes a human sundial as he checks his watch outside the Van Nuys courthouse.

LIFE LESSONS

For a kid, every day is an immersion in something new. For kindergartners in balmy Torrance, it’s an encounter with machine-made snow. For 3-year-old Samer Aref, it’s midday prayers during the Muslim observance of Ramadan. For baby Julien, it’s a swimming lesson.

UNITED STATES

Yes, it’s a complex and dizzyingly diverse world--but there’s so much to draw us together. At downtown L.A.’s Chinese New Year parade, it’s pride in being American. At Crunch gym on Sunset Boulevard, it’s the high-octane combination of gospel music and aerobics.