carmagideon time

The ability to freak out over small things is something that really amazes me about Los Angeles. Every moment, especially a bad moment, is something that snowballs to something truly preposterous. I am talking about carmageddon, and had I had the internet, I would have written about it sooner.

It was national news this minor shut down of the 405, if I remember correctly Diane Sawyer warned about a traffic jam so great that it would be a stand still all the way to Mexico. People were freaked out and we even had a nickname for our impending doom CARMAGGEDON, although I prefered Carpocalypse, but no one asked me. For weeks people lamented their condition and I actually thought people thought that the world would in fact end.

It didn't end, it was quiet, it was nice and people stuck to their hoods and had bbqs and talked about how tame this whole thing was, and people danced on the 405, set up a dining room table and ate with friends. Turning something we all loathe into something kind of special.

It reminded me of this thing called National Night Out, that although is national is probably only celebrated in Minnesota and Texas. My friend Jira would put together DJs and bands shut down his street and we would all eat and talk and dance watch graffiti artists do their thing on a Tuesday night. His neighbors would come and we would all talk about minneapolis and how great summer was and I got to know people I probably would have never talked to. The magic of shutting down your block and getting to know your neighbors.

For this carmaggedon I just did what I do every weekend, headed up to echo park on a train, free this time, and was grill bitch, and cooked and laughed and ate with friends

See nothing to worry about LA. I hope it happens every year.