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Tell Me a Story 9 – Driving Ms Watanabe Yesterday, I drove a 71 year old Japanese woman around West LA. She was lost. After finishing dinner at Don Chuy’s, a Mexican restaurant, the waiter asked if we spoke Japanese. A woman needed help. She spoke politely and explained that she went for a walk but couldn’t find her way back. She had no money, no phone, no number and no address. She seemed to be in good spirits despite walking for about 40 minutes. She remembered that the apartment was across from a school that was decent sized with single story buildings. The school educated kids up to middle school. There were trees and it was near a moderate sized street. She didn’t cross under a bridge or walk over a freeway and there was a “super” nearby – meaning a market. I’ve seen The Fugitive and thought of the Tommy Lee Jones line: “Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles.” My guest was no Richard Kimble, but she walked for 40 minutes at 2-3 miles an hour on flat land. Mostly likely she went at the slower pace, but the radius could be up to two miles. Looking at Google Maps, there’s about 10 schools. I offered her “shotgun” and drove. We passed the closest elementary, middle, private and high school without any luck. It was beginning to get dark. I was sure that it would be one of the first few schools. After a half hour, the radius got larger. The schools seemed to be ones that didn’t fit her description, but her being in LA for just 24 hours, what could she know? I then asked for her daughter’s name which was a Japanese one that I’ve never heard before. I repeated it often and asked where she works and any other details that could help find her. No luck. I even posted it on my social networks, thinking maybe someone knows her since she works in nearby Santa Monica. It soon passed an hour of driving and we ran out of schools. I was beginning to think maybe it wasn’t a school, but a library or perhaps a community center. She had a photo on her camera of what looks like the back of an apartment building, an alley and a fence which belonged to the school. I zoomed in and could see nothing. I placed a call to an LAPD friend, Bob who suggested we stop at Pacific Division so they could check for a missing persons report. If the daughter called it in, they’d know about it. I wrote down the name of the daughter and my lost guest filled out the DOBs as well as her own name on the same sheet. The check by the officer yielded nothing. He and a colleague looked at the photo but weren’t sure....
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Tell Me a Story 9 – Driving Ms Watanabe Yesterday, I drove a 71 year old Japanese woman around West LA. She was lost. After finishing dinner at Don Chuy’s, a Mexican restaurant, the waiter asked if we spoke Japanese. A woman needed help. She spoke politely and explained that she went for a walk but couldn’t find her way back. She had no money, no phone, no number and no address. She seemed to be in good spirits despite walking for about 40 minutes. She remembered that the apartment was across from a school that was decent sized with single story buildings. The school educated kids up to middle school. There were trees and it was near a moderate sized street. She didn’t cross under a bridge or walk over a freeway and there was a “super” nearby – meaning a market. I’ve seen The Fugitive and thought of the Tommy Lee Jones line: “Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles.” My guest was no Richard Kimble, but she walked for 40 minutes at 2-3 miles an hour on flat land. Mostly likely she went at the slower pace, but the radius could be up to two miles. Looking at Google Maps, there’s about 10 schools. I offered her “shotgun” and drove. We passed the closest elementary, middle, private and high school without any luck. It was beginning to get dark. I was sure that it would be one of the first few schools. After a half hour, the radius got larger. The schools seemed to be ones that didn’t fit her description, but her being in LA for just 24 hours, what could she know? I then asked for her daughter’s name which was a Japanese one that I’ve never heard before. I repeated it often and asked where she works and any other details that could help find her. No luck. I even posted it on my social networks, thinking maybe someone knows her since she works in nearby Santa Monica. It soon passed an hour of driving and we ran out of schools. I was beginning to think maybe it wasn’t a school, but a library or perhaps a community center. She had a photo on her camera of what looks like the back of an apartment building, an alley and a fence which belonged to the school. I zoomed in and could see nothing. I placed a call to an LAPD friend, Bob who suggested we stop at Pacific Division so they could check for a missing persons report. If the daughter called it in, they’d know about it. I wrote down the name of the daughter and my lost guest filled out the DOBs as well as her own name on the same sheet. The check by the officer yielded nothing. He and a colleague looked at the photo but weren’t sure....
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Tell Me a Story 3: Return to Disneyland I haven’t stepped foot into Disneyland in nearly two decades. It’s been so long that California Adventures, Downtown Disney and a couple of giant parking structures didn’t exist. I wasn’t a tiny kid, but I’ve pretty much forgotten about it. If you were with me, I’d like to ask, “who else was there?” “was it someone’s birthday?” and perhaps, “did I have fun?” Surely, it was another era in my life when I wanted to ride the fastest, largest, and free-falling-est and I wasn’t a fan of most of the Disney cast. On Sunday, an email inviting me to Disneyland appeared in my inbox, and Monday I was among tens of thousands on a 90+ degree Labor Day. The theme park is now filled with choices before you walk in. California Adventure, a behemoth sister park and Downtown Disney loom in a newb’s curiosity. In a 12 hour span, you couldn’t possibly get on more than 6 rides between two meals. I suppose the idea is to offer something so huge that you’d need at least two or three days to visit all. Families travel the world to be here and some visit like it’s a mall. It turns out, a lot of folks I know have an annual pass. They visit more than once a month and perhaps ride the same rides and eat at the same food. The scene doesn’t change but they keep coming back. If I asked why, their answers would be something simple: “I like it.” The question would then turn on me, “why don’t you have one?” The sun slowly moved with much of the time spent standing in lines. We rode Soarin’ Over California and viewed our State. Space Mountain got darker and Star Tours now includes Jar Jar. It soon became evening and then night. The cool air, slightly thinned crowd and lights gave Disneyland a new look and feel. Walking became easier, options to go here or there met seamless decisions and the fried chicken tasted healthy. After Tinkerbell soared across the Magic Castle, the orchestration of music and fireworks began and everyone froze. Families grouped together, couples hand hands or each other and friends drifted into memories. It’s the nightly crescendo of the Disneyland production. I peeked at my friends – the annual pass holders who’ve seen this a bunch, and they were glued to the sky. It’s a Small World is graphically amazing.
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Tell Me a Story 3: Return to Disneyland I haven’t stepped foot into Disneyland in nearly two decades. It’s been so long that California Adventures, Downtown Disney and a couple of giant parking structures didn’t exist. I wasn’t a tiny kid, but I’ve pretty much forgotten about it. If you were with me, I’d like to ask, “who else was there?” “was it someone’s birthday?” and perhaps, “did I have fun?” Surely, it was another era in my life when I wanted to ride the fastest, largest, and free-falling-est and I wasn’t a fan of most of the Disney cast. On Sunday, an email inviting me to Disneyland appeared in my inbox, and Monday I was among tens of thousands on a 90+ degree Labor Day. The theme park is now filled with choices before you walk in. California Adventure, a behemoth sister park and Downtown Disney loom in a newb’s curiosity. In a 12 hour span, you couldn’t possibly get on more than 6 rides between two meals. I suppose the idea is to offer something so huge that you’d need at least two or three days to visit all. Families travel the world to be here and some visit like it’s a mall. It turns out, a lot of folks I know have an annual pass. They visit more than once a month and perhaps ride the same rides and eat at the same food. The scene doesn’t change but they keep coming back. If I asked why, their answers would be something simple: “I like it.” The question would then turn on me, “why don’t you have one?” The sun slowly moved with much of the time spent standing in lines. We rode Soarin’ Over California and viewed our State. Space Mountain got darker and Star Tours now includes Jar Jar. It soon became evening and then night. The cool air, slightly thinned crowd and lights gave Disneyland a new look and feel. Walking became easier, options to go here or there met seamless decisions and the fried chicken tasted healthy. After Tinkerbell soared across the Magic Castle, the orchestration of music and fireworks began and everyone froze. Families grouped together, couples hand hands or each other and friends drifted into memories. It’s the nightly crescendo of the Disneyland production. I peeked at my friends – the annual pass holders who’ve seen this a bunch, and they were glued to the sky. It’s a Small World is graphically amazing.
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Sawtelle Blog Post by My Belonging. Yes, you belong at GR! Thanks for the visit and the Luke Rook photo. (MyBelonging.com – GR)
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