Crazy in L.A.

Alright - I have HAD IT! The level of rudeness of L.A. folks has been topping the charts lately! I must say that in the last few years the level of kindness of Angelinos has been declining rapidly. Long gone are the days of friendly hellos and people letting you merge into "their" lane in peace. Adios to holding the door open for the old lady who is 3 feet behind you - WELCOME road rage, blank stares and the middle finger! New York gets such a bad rap for its "rude" and "In a hurry" inhabitants, but in my 2 years living there, I NEVER came across rude people like I have here in L.A. In NY, people smiled and held doors open, men actually waited for women to enter the elevator before they did, people actually approached you and asked you if you needed directions if you were standing on the corner looking lost (like I was for the first 2 months). People MAY live a hurried life style there, but people are NOT rude like they are here now. So many people are FOR SELF and it's really sad.

In the last month I have witnessed 2 of the most appauling road ragers I have ever come in contact with. One of the times was just 2 weeks ago - I was driving up PCH, and there was mildly heavy traffic. I was minding my business, listening to my new Ne-Yo album (which I LOVE, by the way) and the silver Honda Accord in the lane to my right starts slowly merging into my lane - heading RIGHT for my front right door! He was not even paying attention as he was text messaging on his cell phone, so I LIGHTLY gave the friendly double-horn-tap to warn him that I was there - he quickly looked up, swerved back into his lane and proceeded to LOSE HIS MIND! I swear to you, this man went freakin' insane!! He is giving me the look of death into his rear view and screaming obscenities that I am embarrassed to repeat (and I'm not embarrassed of much) - he continues on by slamming on his breaks to be even with my front windows and SPITS ON MY CAR, all the while, pounding on his steering wheel - I think I saw a vein pop on his forehead! At this point, I must admit - I am scared shitless - what the hell is this sucka gonna do next??? I said a quick prayer and continued on, trying to slow down, hoping that he would just move on. Well, he didn't, he continues at my speed yelling and screaming and flipping me off.

At this point, I am so damn confused because I have NO CLUE what I did to encourage such a crazy ass response. I swear - I gave a light double tap on the horn and THATS IT! Had he been a little farther ahead of me when trying to merge, I swear, I would have gladly slowed down & let him in my lane - I'm one of the nice L.A. drivers left - but the man was like 4 inches from hitting my car, there was no time for that!

Anyway - karma worked QUICKLY for him!! After an eternity (like 4 minutes) of this craziness, I see lights flashing in my rear view - my automatic response was DAMN! Until I realized that it wasn't for me!! This jerk off got PULLED OVER!! Yeah! I did the happy dance in my car til I got home, but it still bothers me that there are people out there like this. When I got home, I imagined what his life was like - was he married? Did he have kids? If so, does he hurt them? Was this just a bad day for him, or was he always like that? I said a prayer for him, and have every day since.

Are you a road rager? Have you ever been a victim?
What is the kindness-factor in your city?

Peace out! Have a great day!!

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.
- Buddha