San Vicente at 26th 12/31

There are more hummers in Brentwood than in Baghdad. Which gives me an idea: let's send some of ours over there.

Santa Monica Pier 12/30

Just shoved past me and the kids to get to the ticket window.

Wilshire from 22nd to 12th 12/30

Tailgated and then passed me on the right so she could cut me off and then tailgate the guy in front of me.

Wilshire at 22nd 12/30

Hummercrime!

Alley behind the library 12/30

Joe said, "That guy is parked? Right there? Unacceptable!"

San Vicente at Montana 12/30

This bus SO ran the light that we all had to wait while she made up her mind whether she was going to do it or not. She did, and I knew she would.

Bundy at San Vicente 12/30

Hummer. Obscenity. Same difference.

Kenter at Sunset 12/30

Keep clear!

San Vicente from 26th to 11th 12/23

Tailgated.

Next to the stove 12/20

Done with mail!

San Vicente at Saltair 12/19

Keep clear!

Behind the library 12/19

Couldn't understand that in order to park in my space she really had to give me enough room to get my bus out.

Bundy at Nebraska 12/18

The folks cruising down the center turn lane have to skip out of the lane to avoid this guy who's actually turning left.

Kenter at Tuallitan 12/17

This is just outrageous: the gardener is hosing down the street in the pouring rain. What is he thinking?

Geeking search and apologia 12/17

So the naked gunman incident drove us some traffic, because it's spiked in the last day or two from about 6 hits a day to well over 60. Here's a link to the LAPD blog describing the official version of the event. The most traffic still came from blogger, actually (folks just hitting the 'next blog' link I think) but short on its heels were the two queries "kenter gun incident" and "kenter school gun".

Of course, I have to say that these photos are exactly what the naked gunman is complaining about. And let me stress that the subjects of these photos are not exceptional or unusual. You could stand on the corner across from the naked gunman's house for just half an hour on a single weekday morning and see all these trespasses and much worse re-enacted over and over and over again. I'm not excusing his behavior in any way; there are gazillions of responses to such madness better than the one he chose. I do see where someone could be upset by the utter lack of respect displayed by a significant number of those who drive to and from our school. Heck, I am upset by it; it drives this outlet for my own road rage.

This is why I didn't go to tonight's meeting. Because I know I'd say some of these things out loud.

And that would just be trouble.

For those of you who might see yourself in these pages and be angered, I ask only that you consider what behavior it was that landed you here. What example are we setting for our children?

San Vicente at 26th 12/17

Ran the light.

Sunset at Barrington 12/17

Impatient and entitled and self-centered drivers cause gridlock.

Sunset at Bowling Green 12/17

Couldn't be bothered to pull over for the ambulance coming down the wrong side of Sunset. The ambulance actually had to wait for her to go by.

Sunset from Burlingame to Temescal 12/16

Tailgated in her shiny new BMW.

Sunset at Kenter 12/17

Ran the light.

Kitchen counter 12/16

Done making lunch!

San Vicente at 26th 12/16

Two gridlock shots in a single light cycle.

San Vicente at 26th 12/16

Gridlock.

Sunset at Cliffwood 12/15

Tailgating in the rain.

Dining room table 12/14

Done with lunch!

Gorham at Westgate 12/13

Ran the stop sign.

Kenter at the school 12/12

This woman has parked her brand spanking new Saab across the driveway entrance to the school.

Kenter at Sunset 12/12

Hummer with no license plates. Is it just me? Or does this image evoke the Death Star Storm Troopers?

Allenford at 26th 12/12

Just driving down the center turn lane like it's her personal carpool lane.

San Vicente approaching 26th 12/11

Writing something down as she drives.

Veteran at Kinross 12/9

Ran the light.

Ocean Park at 18th 12/9

Shooting crosswalk violators here is like shooting fish in a barrel.

Ocean Park at 18th 12/9

This lady stared at me in disbelief as I took her photo as she tried to run me down in the crosswalk.

The kitchen counter

After he decided he was finished helping me clean up the fish tank project.

I-10 at La Brea 12/7

Tailgated my bus at 75mph with about half a car's length between us.

Kenter at the school 12/5

Hummer parked illegally. Today is a good example of why I get my panties in a wad about this stuff. This afternoon there was an incident at the school involving a naked man with a gun. (Don't you love LA?) No one was hurt and the principal and staff locked down the campus superfast, and the police came and took him away right away. As we were walking out, Joe spied two police cars parked in the red zone in front of the school and said, "Take their picture mamma! They're parked in the red zone!" So I explained to him how the red zone was parking only for emergency vehicles, and the police cars were emergency vehicles and so it was OK for them to be parked there. Then he looked up and saw the dozen other police cars ranged along the side of the road between the school and the corner, and he said, "Mamma, what was the emergency?"

So I told him briefly that there had been some excitement, but it was all over, and there had been a naked man who had a gun who came onto the yard, but that the police had arrested him and he wouldn't be back for a very long time, if ever. I tried to keep my tone even and cheerful and not worry him. He said, "Naked? With a gun? UNacceptable!" And that was that.

Sunset at Beverly 12/5

Hummer.

Kenter at the school 12/4

Wrong way parking in the red zone.

Kenter at the school 12/3

A new low in parking: pointed the wrong way in the red zone.

Westwood at Sunset 12/3

Honked the millisecond the light turned green.

UCLA Lot R 12/3

Hummer!

Sunset approaching Westwood 12/3

The Audi driver tailgated us all until he could rip past us.

Sunset at Barrington 12/2

Motorcyclist with a death wish. Maybe that's redundant, but this one performed a feat of traffic idiocy so daring that Trix was prompted to say, "It's been a particularly death-defying trip tonight."

Veteran at Kinross 12/2

He so had to be in front of me that he nearly killed us both getting there. But thanks to some fancy braking and steering on my part, here we both sit at the light.

Blockbuster parking lot 12/1

Parking styles of the Entitled.

San Vicente at Saltair 12/1

Keep clear!

Kenter all the way down 11/29

Not only did the VW tailgate the Jaguar all the way down, but he ran the stop signs at Tuallitan and Bonhill.

Sunset at Church 11/26

This is not a perfect zipper merge.

Sunset at Beverly 11/26

Keep clear!

Entitlement, California 11/26

Totally blinged out license plate. Her phone, too. And the peace sign dangling from the rear view mirror of her Lincoln Stomper.

San Vicente at 26th 11/25

Both the silver Mazda and the red Ford Ridickulous tailgated me for blocks before blowing past me in a cloud of exhaust. And here we all are at the same light.