Land of LA LA

I'm not a big fan of Los Angeles. I say that in that way that hateful stepchildren talk about indifferent new siblings with behaviour problems. Case in point, every time I leave the house I see something outrageous. Once, on Fountain and Crescent Heights I saw a car fully engulfed in flames for 15 minutes, no fire department, no pedestrians, not even anyone in a window in any of the nearby apartments. It was early in the morning maybe 6-7a, and I was on my way to the gym. I pulled over and tried to dial 911 but was put on hold. Another time, my car was surrounded by stray dogs when I stopped at a stop sign. I mean literally surrounded. They paced a circle around my car, one dog always in front, one always behind, and at one point the leader sat by my front fender glaring at me. Last night I went to the Pan African Film Festival (which I cannot even get into right now until my head is clear) and on the way home saw a crate being burnt on the sidewalk in front of a 7-11 on 6th Street and a major car accident on the street I needed to take home. The friend who was with me had been giving me a hard time for being overly paranoid and by the end of the ride, she said, "Damn, this is the LA you see every day, huh?" All I could do was nod my head.