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2002-12-16 - 1:01 p.m. - an adventure including homeless people


As you can likely deduce from my previous entry, today isn't one of my better days. So rather than doing a weekend recap riddled with bitterness over my current state of mind I'll instead tell a sort of funny interesting story of something that happened a few years ago.

I was probably about 19 at the time and I was driving out to Hollywood at least once a month to visit some people I had met. I owned an '81 Malibu that I used to refer to as a barge because it was so huge. I think it was Cara who said it was like a couple couches on wheels. It had these huge comfy bench seats.

Anyhow as you'd expect, the thing didn't run very well. It wasn't very smart of me to be taking 2-hour drives in it alone but it was exciting and made me feel independent. I figured I would just do it until the thing broke down and then I wouldn't be able to do it anymore. Live life to the fullest, right?

So anyhow this one particular afternoon I got all prettied up and set out to Hollywood. I was wearing some old man slacks, a see-through black top with a black bra underneath and had my hair in braided pigtails. Not exactly something I would normally wear in public but I figured I was going to Hollywood, I was supposed to dress like that!

I ended up taking a different route than I usually took because I had to stop off a mall that was kind of on the way to return some clothes I had recently purchased. I needed the money to fund the vacation.

After I left the mall I wasn't on the road but 20 minutes and I started noticing smoke coming out of the hood. I think my exact words were "fuck fuck fuck fuck!" I tried to pull off the freeway making it just to the top of the off-ramp before my car died. I felt like a jackass and people stared at me, as I stood there helpless. I waited about 15 minutes until I was able to get it started again and drive it out of the way and into a Carl's Jr. parking lot. I went and got some water and poured a whole bunch in then called my step-dad to ask him what to do.

I told him my car had just overheated and whether I should just turn around and go home or if I should continue on my way. He asked where I was, which was about half way there. I had planned on spending an entire week out in Hollywood visiting so I was going to be extremely disappointed if I wasn't able to go. He said since I was halfway there I might as well just go. So I headed off along my merry way again.

An hour or so later and I realize that I've been driving for way too long. All of the sudden the freeway comes to an end so I pull off at a nearby AMPM and ask the attendant where I am. "Gardena". "fuck fuck fuck fuck!" I borrowed one of their maps and realize I had driven WAY out of my way. There had been some construction and I had completely missed the freeway I was supposed to take. So I figure out the best way to go from there and get back in my car.

I'm on the road for about 15 minutes and guess what - my car starts smoking again. "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" I�m on the verge of tears. I try to make it to an off-ramp again and stall AGAIN at the very top of it. This one is even worse because there is hardly ANY room for people to maneuver around me. Instead of just staring out of curiosity, people are glaring at me for inconveniencing them.

I�m really embarrassed and I start to get out of my car when some homeless looking guy comes running up beside me. �Get back in your car! Put it in neutral and you steer it while we push!� I do as I�m told and this guy and a woman that�s with him push my car around the corner to be safely out of the way. At this point I thank them, thinking we had accomplished the goal, but no. The guy tells me to pop the hood and asks me if I have a container of any sort. I�m pretty nervous about this whole situation mostly since I�m alone and there are 2 of them. I�m like �uh, that�s okay� I�ll be alright� and the guy argues �you know this is no place for a girl like you to be broken down here alone!� I�m like �uh� where am I?� he replies �you in South Central!� I�m pretty freaked out at this point so I get a jug out of my trunk and the lady runs off to go get some water while the guy is poking around under my hood. I�m still nervous, looking over my shoulder and really worried. The woman runs back with water and the guy instructs me to turn on my car as he pours the water into it. He says the engine needs to be running to get the water circulating. I�m thinking they�re about to jack me for my car or something but at this point I don�t really have any choice but to do as they tell me. The guy asks �so where you heading?� I tell him Hollywood. He says �oh yeah? Me and my old lady be thinking �bout going to Hollywood too�. I�m thinking "oh no, they�re going to ask me for a ride!� At this point the water is overflowing and my car is running and he says, �okay, there you go!� I handed them 5 bucks and thanked them many times and drove off, heart still beating fast and quite thankful that they didn�t ask me to take them anywhere.

I finally ended up going the right direction and ended up at my destination not too much later.

A week later driving home and my car overheats AGAIN. I can�t remember if it was a male or female this time, but some good Samaritan hops out of their car and insists on filling my car up with not only water but antifreeze as well, mentioning that the same thing happened to them before.

I ended up making it home okay, my car with a broken head gasket (that�s what I get for being such an idiot) and out of commission for quite some time.



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