Friday, June 24, 2005

violence in the streets of downtown?

I'm not currently in the penthouse, but a few blocks away in a building that overlooks Los Angeles Street. About a half-hour ago, I heard loud noises on the street below, louder than the usual cacophony of street sounds. I hear men yelling in Spanish, several cars honking, then screeching to a halt. I look out the window just in time to see a dozen to fifteen guys running into the middle of the street, brandishing crowbars, pipes, and/or thick chains and yelling at each other in Spanish. This was no fistfight, by the way these men were brandishing their "weapons", it looked like a bloody throwdown was breaking out in the middle of a downtown street.

I hear sirens and some guys head for the sidewalk, with the rest giving chase. Not a good time to be walking down Los Angeles Street. The people on the sidewalks are either stopped, staring, or running into stores for safety. Four police cars whizz past, heading south on Los Angeles. I hear a familiar thud-thud-thud, look up, and see a police helicopter, circling.

I think for a second about running downstairs to get a better look, but I'm with my sister. She just took two tabs of morphine and I don't want to leave her alone. Besides, it's time for her feeding. So we both stand by the window, eager to see if any action will take place in front of her building while the liquid makes its way through her feeding tubes.

1 comment:

celia said...

I was at 6th and Los Angeles, so yeah, I guess that made it's way south to you. Did you see how it ended? I couldn't see that far down the street from the window.