We're in L.A.
Our hotel is in the business district of downtown.
It's about 1pm and everyone wants to get sushi.
I had just woken up from a long van ride
and I really desired breakfast.
There was an IHOP about 5 blocks away.
I had the perfect breakfast there:
~ two eggs scrambled with american cheese
~ hash browns
~ a strawberry crepe with cream cheese icing
~ orange juice
~ and two partially cooked strips of bacon
(I spared the bacon)
Swine Flu talk was still in the air.
Even though I knew you couldn't catch it from eating pork,
I still chose to not eat it.
Besides I rarely eat pig and its a dirty meat anyway.
I finished my meal
and after reading the LA Weekly decided to leave.
I noticed when I left that I was the only customer there.
Strange.
I walk down the street.
It's a casually busy sidewalk.
A few men with suits.
A few female joggers with their dogs.
An older man with glasses reading a book outside a cafe.
All of a sudden I felt something shift in the air.
I noticed a few guys looking intently down the street further to where I was heading.
Something was happening but I didn't pay any mind to it.
I continued walking.
Then I saw what they were staring at...
Right in the middle of the road,
in the middle of busy lunchtime traffic,
was a fairly young asian woman
(Japanese or Korean, it was hard to tell)
probably in her late 20's or early 30's.
She was wearing plain white sneakers, a short jean skirt,
and a light brown shirt
that had "DIG 4 LIFE" written in orange letters.
In defiance of everyone,
she was waltzing around in front of stopped cars,
rolling and crawling on the ground,
She would open her mouth
and whine like something horrible had just happened to her.
She also started raising her middle fingers at everyone
as if it was our fault for her state of mind.
It was obvious she had no underwear on
because when she sat on the ground
you could see nothing was covering her private area.
At one point she decided to lift up her skirt and shirt up to her neck
displaying her naked body.
I wasn't sure if I should feel repulsed and look away.
I couldn't.
I just kept observing.
All of a sudden she ran into a nearby hotel entrance.
The cops and paramedics finally showed up
and I didn't see her again.
I went on my way back to the hotel.
It’s about 3am early Sunday morning.
Phil, Caitlin, and I are at the IHOP by Pembroke Mall.
It’s lovely when the right combination of people get together for food and conversation.
The three of us balanced each other out.
We shared stories, stories of our families, and our childhood upbringings.
We shared ideas and philosophies for the future.
We critiqued each other’s mannerisms and behaviors.
We vented our frustrations.
We analyzed the music business and talked about our aspirations.
We argued.
We played Uno.
We didn’t leave until about 630am.
After having nights like that with people,
I always leave feeling more connected to them.
I create a special love for them.
Later on that day I was driving down Dam Neck Road heading towards
I had just taken a right on London Bridge Road when I saw a lady with the hitch hiking thumb out.
I decided to pick her up.
She was wearing a thick blue flannel jacket and had on worn-out faded blue jeans.
She looked like she was in her 40’s.
She seemed really frustrated.
She told me she had walked in the wrong direction.
She was really thankful I picked her up.
It was very cold out.
She works for a guy dealing with firewood.
She likes to listen to Staind.
I put on The Shins “Wincing The Night Away”.
I asked her how long she had been in Virginia Beach.
She didn’t answer.
Then she started crying.
I didn’t know what to say.
She apologized.
I said it was ok.
Then she told me she had just broken up with her boyfriend.
I asked her how long she had been with him.
She said not long.
I dropped her off at the house she wanted and that was it.
