Bruce Lee Statue in Los Angeles' Chinatown

I got this news back in July but haven't had a chance to blog about it until now.

There's an effort by the Bruce Lee Foundation to erect a Bruce Lee statue at the Alpine Recreation Center in Los Angeles' Chinatown. Apparently, the statue has already been purchased and the plan has been approved by the Dept of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles. It's now waiting for approval from the Dept of Parks & Recreation Commission.

For more information, you can check out the proposal for all the details.

Bus Stories - Flying Rim

Lots of bus stories lately. Perhaps I should create a separate blog just for my bus stories?

Have you seen videos (especially on the local TV news) where a tire/rim literally flies off a car and hits another car? Well, that type of accident occurred the other morning.

The bus I was riding was going west on the freeway when the entire rim & tire flew off a car that was a few hundred feet ahead of us. The rim & tire:

• went over the center divider,
• hit a car that was going east on the freeway,
• then came back over the center divider,
• hit another car on the driver's door,
• bounced off that car,
  
• hit a truck,
• finally stopped.

It was scary. Very lucky that the flying rim didn't go through a windshield or window. The rim came off of a brand new car. It was clearly an aftermarket rim. I'm assuming that either the rim was defective or that it wasn't tightened properly when installed. How else would the rim and tire just fly off the car like that?

Very lucky that no one was seriously injured. In fact, there didn't appear to be any injuries at all...just damage to the cars involved.

Bus Stories...Continued

Another good one from the bus on Friday...

The bus was about 20 minutes late. When it finally arrived, the passenger ahead of me had this exchange with the bus driver.

Passenger: "The bus was very late today. Do I have to pay?"
Driver: "Yes, you have to pay. You always have to pay to ride the bus."

I didn't dare to laugh out loud, but I did have a smirk on my face as I paid my fare. The driver must have seen me smirk, because he started to laugh and just shake his head.

Only in Los Angeles...only in Los Angeles.

You think you're tough, huh?

Strange story, but the question above is what someone asked me as I was riding the bus. Let me tell you about it:

The bus was packed - standing room only - and I wound up giving my seat up to a senior. So I'm standing during the trip home and have my earbuds on listening to my MP3 player. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a guy staring at me. I don't bother looking back and just look elsewhere.

The guy was sitting down about 2 persons away, but I pay him no attention. He occasionally stares at me a few times during the 45-minute trip, but again I just listen to my music. Well, the bus lightens up as people get off. He stands up and proceeds to give me the stare down. He's at eye level with me, so I'm not about to look away but just look straight at him.

He then asks me, "Do you box?" I take my earbuds off and ask, 'excuse me?' He replies, "You think you're tough, huh?" I don't reply; I just smile and put my earbuds back on. He then says, "Yeah, you think you're tough" and proceeds to shadowbox in front of me.

At this point, I'm thinking WTF and put my MP3 player in my pocket to free up my right hand. (Bear in mind I'm standing and using my left hand to hold onto the railing.) I take off my earbuds and ask him back, "Do you box?" He replies, "Nah, man. I'd get knocked out."

After that exchange, he walks away, but begins to pace back and forth always coming back to the position where our 'conversation' took place. I wasn't sure if he was going to do anything, but I shifted my feet into a squared stance in case he tried to rush/attack me. I was mentally preparing myself to be ready for a fight when he got off at the next bus stop.

I don't know about you, but that was fucking weird...even for Los Angeles. He didn't appear to be on drugs, but I guess he was surprised that I stared back at him. Maybe he was expecting me to look away and be timid; but if you get in front of my face and try to stare me down, I'm going to stare right back at you.

Just WEIRD!

Top 3: Begging in LA Stories

As some of you may have already guessed, I live in Los Angeles, part of the Republik of Kalifornia. I don't believe that beggars in other parts of the country behave the same way as those here in Los Angeles. Let me share my Top 3 stories with you:

#3 - There was a brief period in my life where I was able to walk to work. On one of these walks one morning, I was approached by a disheveled woman asking for money because her car had broken down. I was running late, so I didn't bother to stop and just said "can't help you" as I walked by. She proceeds to let out a big "jeez", as if I should be ashamed for not helping her.

Less than 5 days later I see this same woman and she was using the same broken down car story on someone else. (Note: she was pretty loud to make sure others nearby could hear her sob story.) So as I walked by, I said "your car is still broken down from last week, huh?" Just complete silence from her. It was priceless!

#2 - While walking to a Starbucks, I pass a guy asking for change. Being in a good mood I told him I'd give him some change once I get my Starbucks. Big mistake as he then proceeded to tell me to get him a latte instead. WTF! Needless to say, my mood changed instantly and he got a 'fuck off' instead. He was in no position to tell me what I should give him.

And drum roll please for my #1 Begging in LA Story:

I'm at a crosswalk waiting for the light to turn green. A guy comes up to me and asks for $0.25. Well, it happens I'm not carrying any change so I told him that "I can't help you as I have no change."

Big mistake as he then says, "I know you have change. You don't want to give me a quarter." It's now 'on' like Donkey Kong as I fire back, "Fuck you. I don't have any change. Even if I did, I wouldn't give you any now."

He continues on, asking me for a quarter and why I won't help him. I was ready to plant my fist into his face when the light changed. I decided to walk away rather than escalate it further. I certainly didn't want to get arrested for assault and battery on a bum over $0.25.

Feel free to share your memorable begging stories in 'comments'. I want to know if the beggars in LA are different from other areas.