Boo Radley...
Tonight I am writing out of guilt.
There is a celebrity who lives in my neighborhood. The celebrity has a history of screaming at people for no reason...or worse, really, really bad reasons. Everyone on my block is scared of her. She screams at everyone. I have been witnessing extremely bizarre activity over on that side of the street on at least a biweekly basis since moving here in September of last year. She's the block comedy. Shared experience. We all have something to talk about. Boo Radley - that person that lives in that house on the corner...
In LA, in general, I have noticed a lack of neighborly activity. People don't really know many of their neighbors. They know people within their own buildings but they aren't on even a last name basis with more than one or two other people on their block. In Boston the reverse is true. My neighborhood in Boston was easy. Everyone was named Baker (Bake-ah) and I was definitely the only Silverman. Everyone waves at each other. Everyone says hello. When the mailman dropped someone else's letter in your mailbox, you ran it over to the proper recipient personally. This does not really happen here in LA, but because my block has Boo Radley, we have become Boston-close.
Well tonight I really felt ashamed. Boo Radley had to move a car for street cleaning. Boo has to be somewhat wealthy - she's been highly successful in the entertainment world. She has a circa 1980 Volvo that is covered in nicks and bruises. Why? I don't know. Needless to say she had to move this crappy car for street cleaning. The car is completely shot. It's an automatic and the transmission has gone. Boo drove around the block tonight, pushing the car as it screamed. There is no way for me to accurately describe the noises that were coming from this poor Volvo. Rocket launching loud sounds of a dying machine. Everyone in my neighborhood came outside to see what was going on. Everyone held their ears - it was painfully loud.
Here's where the guilt comes in...
Nobody offered to help. Nobody, that is, except a stranger who happened to be driving by. We were all outside but nobody lifted a finger. If it had been anyone else's car we would have been a crew of good Samaritans. But it wasn't someone else. It was Boo. We watched from stoops and balconies, hiding behind landscaping, and did nothing. I felt guilty and ran across the street in my pink fuzzy slippers to offer to push - but when I got near the car I became frightened that the Volvo would explode so I aborted mission and ran back to my stoop with my tail between my legs.
Boo struggled for a half an hour with her screaming car and no one came to her aid. I am sure Boo's not a bad person. I'm thinking that she's just had a bad life - always being looked at - people always wanting something from her - thinking they know her 'cause they saw her in a movie...celebrity really isn't all it's cracked up to be - of this I am sure. I am very disappointed in myself. I should have helped. No wonder why she hates her neighbors...
There is a celebrity who lives in my neighborhood. The celebrity has a history of screaming at people for no reason...or worse, really, really bad reasons. Everyone on my block is scared of her. She screams at everyone. I have been witnessing extremely bizarre activity over on that side of the street on at least a biweekly basis since moving here in September of last year. She's the block comedy. Shared experience. We all have something to talk about. Boo Radley - that person that lives in that house on the corner...
In LA, in general, I have noticed a lack of neighborly activity. People don't really know many of their neighbors. They know people within their own buildings but they aren't on even a last name basis with more than one or two other people on their block. In Boston the reverse is true. My neighborhood in Boston was easy. Everyone was named Baker (Bake-ah) and I was definitely the only Silverman. Everyone waves at each other. Everyone says hello. When the mailman dropped someone else's letter in your mailbox, you ran it over to the proper recipient personally. This does not really happen here in LA, but because my block has Boo Radley, we have become Boston-close.
Well tonight I really felt ashamed. Boo Radley had to move a car for street cleaning. Boo has to be somewhat wealthy - she's been highly successful in the entertainment world. She has a circa 1980 Volvo that is covered in nicks and bruises. Why? I don't know. Needless to say she had to move this crappy car for street cleaning. The car is completely shot. It's an automatic and the transmission has gone. Boo drove around the block tonight, pushing the car as it screamed. There is no way for me to accurately describe the noises that were coming from this poor Volvo. Rocket launching loud sounds of a dying machine. Everyone in my neighborhood came outside to see what was going on. Everyone held their ears - it was painfully loud.
Here's where the guilt comes in...
Nobody offered to help. Nobody, that is, except a stranger who happened to be driving by. We were all outside but nobody lifted a finger. If it had been anyone else's car we would have been a crew of good Samaritans. But it wasn't someone else. It was Boo. We watched from stoops and balconies, hiding behind landscaping, and did nothing. I felt guilty and ran across the street in my pink fuzzy slippers to offer to push - but when I got near the car I became frightened that the Volvo would explode so I aborted mission and ran back to my stoop with my tail between my legs.
Boo struggled for a half an hour with her screaming car and no one came to her aid. I am sure Boo's not a bad person. I'm thinking that she's just had a bad life - always being looked at - people always wanting something from her - thinking they know her 'cause they saw her in a movie...celebrity really isn't all it's cracked up to be - of this I am sure. I am very disappointed in myself. I should have helped. No wonder why she hates her neighbors...
posted by Freckles at
9:53 PM
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