Exaggeration

guy missed by the bus. this guy was waiting at the bus stop. his bus arrived and drove past him. as it did, the guy had the most confused look on his face - like this: "wqepipofoi?" he then spread out his arms, as if to say, "What the hell, man?," at the bus driver. Maybe it was the shrug that convinced the bus driver to pull-over fifty feet after the stop.

gas station on Slauson and Crenshaw. I worked with my dad today (Saturday) in LA. We were heading to another job when my dad stopped for gas. I saw the strangest people walking around that gas station. It was packed with cars at all the pumps. Not only that, but there were people walking around who weren't even there for gas. There was this middle-aged black guy, grayish afro, a few missing teeth, ragged clothes, who said to me, "Olla, amgio. Got a quarter?" He didn't even stop walking. There was a guy there, very suspicious, who had jeans sagging to the middle of his thighs. While I waited in the car, a couple of fire department ambulances blazed through traffic - they were dodging and swerving over the road because people didn't really pull over; all they did was brake. There was heavy traffic, as the gas station was on the corner of an intersection. Cars and buses were going by non-stop; stoplights were changing and switching every twenty seconds. There were dozens of people walking around. I saw a young black guy with a fedora. I saw two asian people - a father and his teenage son - wearing sunglasses. Most people around there were black. I heard a lot of talking and commotion from every direction. I could see a bus stop about twenty feet away. I saw an old woman with a wrap around her head. I saw a chubby guy. I saw a black lady wearing a black skirt and a frilly white blouse - looked like a large doily. despite her sitting, I could see how big her but was. Literally, it was sticking out from under her. I was thinking to myself, "What the hell is going on? Why is there so much chaos and commotion around here?" I clearly overheard the big ass lady talking on her cell. She was talking for a bit, I was listening a bit, and then she said, in a loud, high-pitched yell, "YEAH, OKAY. RIGHT NOW I'M AT THE CORNER OF SLAUSON AND CRENSHAW. YEAH, THAT'S WHERE I'M AT." I was like, WHAT!? No wonder there was so much going on: the corner of Slauson and Crenshaw is just about the heart of South Central Los Angeles: one of the poorest crime-ridden areas in LA.

Cholo with the prettiest eyebrows. Some mexican guy was crossing the street in front of us. he had straight black hair combed back with grease or something. he had an angular, handsome jaw and a deep brown face that was quite clean - despite being a bit shiny. i noticed he had strange eyebrows; when he got closer to me, I noted how well-plucked they were, fine even, and how they curved just a bit at the ends. What pretty eyebrows, I thought.

Clowning downtown. I saw a black guy sitting at his bus stop in a full clown costume. Rainbow afro wig, white face paint, pajama jumpsuit with white polka dots. I knew he was black because his neck was darker than his face. Didn't see if he had the shoes on, though.

"Are you doing all the tress, or just this yard's?" we worked in Marina del Ray this morning - another wealthy city by the ocean with homes worth millions of dollars. we trimmed a giant bird of paradise at one of these multi-million dollar houses. the houses in this area are arranged as blocks on a grid. small walkways run between rows of houses, which connect to the roads out. my dad is chainsawing a trunk of the bird of paradise when I spot, four houses down, a woman staring at us from her third floor balcony. I stare back at her. she's too far away to see my eyes, so she doesn't detect me looking at her. after five seconds of motionless staring, she finally catches my sight, and quickly and nonchalantly pivots, and walks inside. ten minutes later, i'm picking up debris when i see her again. she's walking her small dog on the walkway outside her house. she has curly black hair, cut-offs with skinny legs, and has dark skin like a latin person. she looks kinda hot, so i assume she's in her thirties. as i work, i see what she's doing. she's walking around now, next to the dog but not with the dog, sauntering about. her dog is a fluffy white terrier. she's waiting for her dog to poo, i guess. i turn to my work, clean up a bit, then look towards her again. she's still sauntering, strolling slowly next to her dog - yet, I notice that she's closer this time. she's walked a few feet towards me. i shrug and do some more work. i turn back again. she's even closer this time! what is going on? What is this woman up to? this time I work while looking at her. she catches my eyes and turns away. she walks a few steps to her house further away. I say, You know what? who cares about this crazy lady anyway. She's walking like she's stoned, she might be confused about something. I'll ignore her. i get back to work. five minutes later, she approaches me while my dad is in a tree chainsawing some stalks. she walks up to me, her dog nowhere to be see, and only says, "Are you doing all the trees, or just this yard's?" i blink at her, then the implication hits me: she wants us to do yard work! up close, i see details. she's not latin, but rather a really, really tan person. her lips are puffed and her face possibly botoxed. her eyes are small creases of light blue in her tan face. her white t-shirt is see-through; through it, i can see her pink bra or bathing suit top - i don' know which. damn, I think, I thought she was pretty from far away.i say, "No, just this banana tree [i thought it was; it was not]," and nothing else. She says, "Oh," and strolls away. as i'm watching her walk away, it occurs to me that her skin is orange; she is an orange person. she went back in front of her house, strolled slowly around for a bit, looked around like she was really confused about something, then entered her yard and closed the gate with a crash.

genetic swerving. driving down slauson avenue when my dad realizes he needs to make a left turn. "I don't even know where the hell I'm going," he says. "I needed to make a turn right here," indicating the intersection he has just passed. quickly, he merges from the right lane to the left lane to make a left turn. he merges a little too much, and enters the empty center lane for a few feet before reentering the left lane. in real time, it looks like he swerves. i look into the side mirror at the cars behind us. the red corvette close behind us, who was originally in the left lane, moves slightly into the center lane a few feet and reenters the left lane. then, i see the white nissan sentra behind him do the exact same thing: enter the center lane for a few feet and move back into the left lane. i laughed and told my dad what he did: he created an imaginary pothole people were trying to avoid.