drive carefully today

I feel the need to share a couple of events from yesterday. I'll start with the happy one.

Dianna had the brilliant idea of visiting the local animal rescue in order to play with the dogs. We looked up the Pasadena humane society and headed over to check out the dogs. I was fairly impressed by the place. They have a surprising number of dogs, most of them healthy and friendly. The cages were decent sized and the bars were spaced widely enough for us to stick our hands through and pet the dogs. The also have a few exotic birds and an alligator. One of the first dogs we saw was a boxer covered in scrapes and cuts and sporting a huge line of stitches across his back and shoulder. Whether he was hurt in a fight or hit by a car one might expect an injured dog to be shy or nervous or unfriendly. But, he was quite possibly the sweetest animal we played with. It's good to see that the love and care the animals receive at the PHS pays off. There were easily half a dozen dogs I would have tried to adopt if I was allowed to have pets here.

While we were playing with a couple puppies a girl with a PHS uniform joined us. I was commenting on how cool it must be to have a job there and she explained that she was just a volunteer and came in for three hours every Friday. Her task was to go into the cages and play with the dogs and sometimes walk them. I was blown away. I had no idea a volunteer position so perfect for me existed. Dianna and I both promptly vowed to volunteer. However, we were told that the volunteer program was closed to new applicants until May. Damn. So, I'm going to look into SPCA and animal rescue programs in nearby cities. So far I can't get an answer at the Baldwin Park SCPA and Glendale's volunteer program is currently shut down. But, I'm still in awe of this wonderful discovery. I can't wait to play with all the dogs.

Last night Dianna and I went to Burbank to see Something's Gotta Give. The dialog was mostly good with a number of interesting insights and some very honest moments. The pacing was awkward for the last 45 minutes. Diane Keaton was terrific, Jack Nicholson was colorful, and Frances McDormand was thoroughly annoying. But, I think she always is. The most amusing cast member was Keanu Reeves playing a medical doctor. I just kept expecting "Whoa. You're totally having a heart attack." Anyway, while driving home along the 134 traffic slowed to halt and we could see flashing police lights ahead. The whole freeway was funneled through the carpool lane while police milled around the accident scene. As we passed through the bottle neck the emergency crew's flashlights, headlights and spotlights shone upon the most horrific freeway scene I have ever laid eyes upon. The first thing I noticed was a yellow body bag covering up an still form. Past that the ground was strewn with body parts and blood. All that was left were bits of shredded clothing and small piles of muscles, bone and blood spread out over about 20-25 meters. The full horror of the scene is hard to convey. A couple empty vehicles sat nearby and the ground was covered in glass. On the side of the road a tow-truck was picking up a badly mangled motorcycle.

After we got back to my place I looked up the incident on sigalert.com but it gave no details which is strange for a serious accident. I checked a few local news sources but saw no mention of it. Today I've continued my search for a story on the accident to no avail. A Google news search shows nothing related. Pretty much every local news source (latimes.com, kabc, pasadenastarnews.com) mentioned a nasty accident on the 15 but nothing for the 134. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune had an article about a 2-car crash in which 5 people were injured. The article talks about the people involved having back and neck pains. What about a dead body splattered all over the freeway? How has this incident escaped news coverage? I could understand that the police might withhold names until the family has been identified but why is there not a single mention of the accident anywhere? After having seen the mess on the freeway I feel that I need to know what happened to have some closure. Not that I'll forget the images in my head any time soon. Dianna and I were both a little shaken after driving past it. It took a while to fall asleep. But, at least I was able to come home. It made me very grateful to make it back in one piece. Well, I'm off to check news sites again. Drive safely everyone.

UPDATE: (Sunday, Feb 08, 10:30)
I finally found a couple news pieces that mention it. The LA Times has a three sentence blub about it. And the Pasadena Star news mentions it in the Around Pasadena page. Since this will disappear soon I've reposted the text here:

EAGLE ROCK -- A 53- year-old Pasadena man was killed Saturday when his motorcycle crashed on a freeway and he was struck by four vehicles, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

Andrew Woods was on the eastbound Ventura (134) Freeway west of Figueroa Street at about 12:30 a.m. when his motorcycle "crashed for unknown reasons,' said CHP Officer Brian Joy.

Four vehicles hit him after he was thrown from the motorcycle, Joy said.

CHP officials closed the freeway until 3:30 a.m. to investigate and clear the wreckage, said CHP Officer Bruce Gaines.

My sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Andrew Woods during this difficult time.

puddle stompin'

It was high time to revisit the childhood art of puddle stomping. Monday night's pleasant rain provided the opportunity and my Gortex jacket and boots provided the means. As long as my head and feet are warm I'm fairly happy. Clad in my waterproof gear I saunter along the wet sidewalk splashing carelessly through the occasional small puddle. Then I walk down our quiet street dragging my feet through the stream by the curb. At the corner I come across the first large puddle. I enjoy the serenity of wading into the middle of it, immune to the effects of wetness on my shoes. Then a small stomp. Then another. Instinctively I hesitate like a child standing near the entrance to a forbidden room. Part of my mind says, "wait, you'll get cold and wet" and the other part of my mind replies, "exactly!" As the muddy rainwater splashes against my legs a sense of emancipation creeps into me. Carefree, I stomp and kick harder. I hold out my hands to feel the raindrops. The wetter I am, the more liberated I become. Grinning widely I set out again to wander in the rain. My roving path takes me over the freeway, down Lake, and back toward home along Walnut. I receive a few strange glances as I meander from puddle to puddle and pause under the edge of awnings. I walk slowly to enjoy the relaxing sound of the rain hitting my jacket.

I love when it rains in LA. The din of traffic is tempered by the patter of raindrops on pavement. The air is filled with fresh new scents. The dusty, dull roads are replaced by black, glistening asphalt. Surreal ambient lighting covers the freeway as headlights illuminate the mist. The look, the feel, the smells, the sounds of the city are changed. For a brief few hours we are all foreigners in a strange, wet landscape. LA is transformed by the rain. Ritual cleansing. And after the purification a brand new city will wake up under a bright, clear sky. The sun may be LA's sustenance, but the rain is it's rebirth.

By the time I get back to my doorstep my pants are drenched and my hands are cold but my heart is warmed. The first thing I do after taking off my coat is start heating water in the kettle. Sitting at my desk clutching the hot cup of tea in my hands I am absolutely content. For a short while no luxury or pleasure in the world could tempt me away from the sound of rain on the trees outside my window.

SuperBummer (SU)XXXVIII

This year's SuperBowl sucked more than any I've seen so far. Now, before any of you start whining about a close game or good defense or some pointless statistic let me clarify something. The only reason I ever watch the SuperBowl is for the ads. The game itself bores the crap out of me. When the game is in progress I sometimes get distracted picking fuzz off of my shirt or arranging the tortilla chips by weight. Ooh, look, they're wandering around the field. Ooh, look they're gathered in a circle. Ooh, look they're arguing with the ref. And all the while the clock is running. Football is the only game that can make one hour of clock time last four hours, while actual play takes up 39 seconds. The least they could do is provide amusing ads for us.

But, the ads have been getting lamer each year since 2000. This year at least two ads tried to use chimps but neither held a candle to etrade's dancing monkey. Monster.com is still trying, but hasn't come up with anything remotely as funny as their original SuperBowl ad. A couple PR companies seem to think that toilet humor never gets old. Look! A farting animal! Surely, it's still funny after the 8,294,573 other fart jokes we've heard lately. I didn't even like IBM's linux commercial because the kid was creepy and looked like a mini-Eminem. The "How does he train for that" ad elicited a mild chuckle from me. But, overall it was a waste of time to pay attention. Did every PR company out there fire their creative talent? At least it was an excuse to hang out with friends, play some poker, and grill burgers. Speaking of which, our house is now in possession of a nice set of poker chips and a grill. A poker night will likely be occuring before long.