On my way to an appointment this morning, I noticed a group of flashing lights ahead in a pretty scary neighborhood of Los Angeles. I didn't think anything of it at first because when you see a police car in LA it generally means someone is pulled over to the side of the road and they're being issued a ticket. LA is a car city and has been for a long time, with thousands of tickets being issued daily. Naturally, I thought as I approached I would see a sad motorist with his/her head down and the officer scolding them for speeding, or running a stop sign, while writing out a big fat ticket. This is what I thought I would see.
However, what I really wanted to see was a full blown accident with maybe a burning car, or signs of visible carnage. Like everyone who's ever passed an accident scene, you're hoping to see the visible remains of some poor unfortunate soul(s). His/Her body in pieces on the roadside, blood still spewing for from and newly opened wound, or maybe as you pass their severed arm hits your windshield and you take it as a souvenir. Or even better yet, the car they are in is on fire, and you see there arm jutting from the window, burnt and charred as they struggled to get out of the burning vehicle! Or better still the severed head of a victim is lying in the street just waiting to be taken home by a stray dog or coyote!
However on this typical morning, I was certain all I would see was a person pulled over on the shoulder and a ticket being written by a traffic cop. However, what I saw was not what I had expected...
As I approached the flashing red and blue lights, I noticed they were in the middle of the street. And as I came even closer, I noticed it was several police (8)cars blockading the road to prevent entry and exit. Effectively thay had shut down 1st Avenue in Los Angeles. The closer I came to the scene, the more I noticed that the cars were position to blockade a store and an adjoining house. In addition, all of the police were out of their cars WITH THEIR GUNS DRAWN, in the direction of the business and house. I thought to myself, "Okay please don't start shooting, please don't start shooting. And if you do shoot, shoot at someone else. Not me" The situation seemed intense, and the tension was raised higher because all of the idiots in front of me were driving slowly to assess the situation. Are people retarded? Don't they realize they're not watching tv and they could be caught in the middle of a crossfire between gang members and the LAPD? Obviously not, because they were acting like tourists. I want to shout, "Move you f#$%king morons. Do you wanna be shot?!", but all that came out was an audible shriek like a girl watching a horror movie.
What a horrible person I am? The whole time this is going on, I'm not the least bit concerned about the safety of the police or other people in the area. All I really care about is my own butt, and how am I going to get outta here and a save it. I slowly approach a stop sign no more than 30 feet from the street blockade. I watch the police to see if they are planning to attack or are moving in on the people barricaded in the house & building. Really? As if I'd know what the hell to do if they did start shooting. I'd pee my pants for sure, then after that I don't know what I'd do.
My was is blocked so I start to turn right to avoid the melee which is about to ensue. And as I'm turning, I see two police officers advance towards the buildings. I'm slowly moving through the intersection, and the entire time I'm thinking,
" Okay stay low. Keep your head down. And don't take a bullet just for a bonus you idiot! Wait why am I staying low? Is it stop, drop, and stay low, or is it stop, drop and roll. It's stop, drop, and roll. Wait this isn't a fire? It's a shoot out. Stay low so the bullets don't hit you. Now drive you idiot! Drive!"
I step on the gas and move quickly out of the intersection. So quickly in fact some of the officers are looking at me in my rearview as I drive off. I wonder if they suspect me of being in one of the gangs and if they'll chase me down. (The Tie Gang?) I stay low hoping they won't notice and I'm thankful no shots are fired in my direction either by the perptrators or the police. As I drive away, I almost put my hand up to wave goodbye to the entire situation but I've seen plenty of movies where when someone does that, their fingers get blown off. I keep my hands down and just drive. I'm happy to be alive, happy to be on my way, and happy to have all 4 fingers (thumb included).
There's more to life than just money. There's life.
-M
No comments:
Post a Comment