My first impression is that the people in Los Angeles are not the laid-back Californians they're supposed to be.
That is, at least not when they are driving either a car or a shopping cart. The vibes of impatience and "hurry, hurry, hurry" are thick on both the roads and in the aisles.
I saw my first road rage incident here today. Do you know that car insurance commercial, I think it might be the "Grey Power" one, where the lady is jerking back and forth in her driver's seat, and the voice-over is "you don't drive like her"? Well, an elderly man wearing a yarmulke was doing just that at an intersection on Beverly Blvd., and honking at a young man driving in front of him who was dithering about making a turn or not. It's always amusing to see folks in visible religious garb acting in an uncharitable manner, and so vigorously at that!
Last week as I was pulling into a parking lot at the thrift store (on a furniture run), I missed the one open parking spot as I was passing it, so I put my signal on and backed up a bit so I could turn into it. As soon as I'd backed up far enough to turn in, a lady coming the other way pulled into it! There's no way you could have missed the fact I planned to take that spot. My jaw dropped. As this was happening, someone else was honking at me from behind because I was blocking her as I tried to pull into that spot. Holy smokes. The lady who stole my spot didn't make eye contact, but her partner smiled apologetically at me. I guess that's just the way it's done here!
And the grocery store! Everyone is polite since they're not wearing an automobile for protection, but the smiles are thin and tense, and the cart speeds are deadly, although they usually brake before the collision. I don't think I'm an especially plodding shopper, but I am getting those "let me through NOW" vibes quite a bit.
The totally weird thing is, is that when I am out on the road as either a pedestrian or on a bike, everyone is courteous! Not that they're not tense, they'll still come zipping up at hell-on-wheels speeds to an intersection, but when they see me, they are noticeably deferential. This is so different from Ottawa, where the aggressive crowd will be consistent and run you off the road whether you're in a car or not, and perhaps even more so when you're not. I wonder if there are enhanced fines for killing non-motorized people or something. Or maybe we're so relatively rare that the motorists are saying "hey, what's that thing running loose?"
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When the Eagles wrote the song "Life in the Fast Lane" it was all about LA. Your observations of grocery store stress are interesting. I always hated grocery shopping in Toronto - everyone in the store was always rushing and uptight. When we moved to the country that was one of the biggest changes - grocery shopping became a relaxing activity.
ReplyDeleteThe law and related fines are extremely harsh in the US when you run over someone with a motor vehicule(which is less likely with a shopping cart)... That being said, I think valium in water (along with chlorine and fluorine) should be mandatory in cities all over the world. If would fix so many problems... -Eric
ReplyDeleteVery funny Eric...I laughed. Say hi to your dad for me.
ReplyDeleteRoad rage can be a problem here too....when driving back from Sandbanks two cars were swerving all over and yelling at each other.....Maybe the beach climate brings out the angry side of motorists! :)
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