I am sitting with my 16-year-old student, Oona. Quick-write time. George – a 7th grader- is sitting here, too. He is waiting for him mother who is running late. He doesn’t seem bothered, however; I think he is playing a video game. Oona said traffic is bad near Santa Monica Boulevard. I can hear a helicopter near Sunset. I don’t know if that means an accident or some sort of criminal action. I went out to see if it was a police helicopter. I didn’t see any markings on its sides so I don’t know for sure what that means. If the police helicopter is out, then you are supposed to stay inside in case there is a fugitive running around. I am going to hope that it is an accident since I don’t really want to shut the back door. It could be argued, however, that it would be very hard to get in our back yard at the moment since we are going to have a big estate sale in the upcoming weeks and our driveway if filled with boxes. Plus, there are three cars in the driveway and we have a very narrow space on either side of the cars so if there was someone who was escaping, they would have to be very thin. I can hear the helicopter still, but when there is real danger, a voice comes on a loud-speaker and tells everyone to remain in their homes with their doors locked. That has only happened a couple of times in 20 years and it was on the West Hollywood side of the street. It was also at night. Needless to say, we followed their instructions. Not the most pleasant way to spend an evening…
Now another helicopter just flew by so I am thinking it is definitely an accident. That is what usually merits multiple helicopters in the air around these parts. They all sound as if they are heading somewhere else as of now. That is good news since it is loud when they are circling.
George just left. His mother picked him up. He told me today that his mother is an entertainment lawyer and she handles all the contracts for House of Cards. I told him that we recently binge-watched that show and it was responsible for some late nights of tv watching. He told me that he has tons of backpacks and tee shirts that his mother gets free from the show and asked if I would like one. I said, “Sure! Bring a few over. That would be great.” So, in the future, Ray and I might be walking around with Kevin Spacey on our chests or backs. Well, I may be. Ray would never wear a tee-shirt like that.
There is a lot of air action, I must say. Hopefully, nothing major is occurring up on Sunset. I am surprised to hear yet another helicopter circling. Good grief. This is ridiculous. Hopefully, it’s just bad traffic.
Oona and I finished our quick-writes and then went over the short story she is writing. She has now gone and I am here alone, finishing up this blog entry.
Aw…the helicopters are now gone, too. I think the event that caused all the ruckus is the upcoming Sunset Boulevard Music Festival. I believe the police have diverted traffic on Sunset at the top of our street in order to set up the big tents for the festival that starts tomorrow. The traffic in front of our house is bumper-to-bumper and crawling by. That is a definite sign Sunset is closed. So, mystery solved. Now we’ll just have to remember not to try to go up the hill and drive east from Friday through Sunday. Dear, dear. The trials of city living. The good news is that at least we don’t have a fugitive trying to elude police by hiding in our back garden!
On that note, I’ll say good night. It’s been a long day. I think I will soon head upstairs for the rest of the evening. I am ready for some much needed down-time. Sleep well, my friends.
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