My Classsic "L.A." Moment
So I'm watching the 11 pm "news" on Thursday night, when suddenly a BREAKING NEWS banner graphic comes on the screen, and the ubiquitous car chase fills the screen.
Now for those of you who have never lived in Los Angeles, you should know that Car Chases are the No. 3 Hobby in L.A. behind Plastic Surgery (No. 1) and Name-Dropping (No. 2).
There's something about the drive-everywhere culture combined with the spider-web network of freeways that makes televised car chases must-see viewing on local Los Angeles television. I would like to say I'm immune to it, but the fact that I am telling you about this story would prove me a liar.
The chase started at about 11:20pm and 45 minutes later, I was still watching when I realized that the speeding motorist was heading south on the 101 and was about to pass my Hollywood apartment which is only about a block away from said freeway. I had the surreal experience of watching the police helicopter's spotlight illuminating the driver's path on TV and listening to the anchor play-by-play coverage, then muting my television to hear that same helicopter buzzing over my house and seeing its spotlight outside my window. I followed the chase live and in person for about 5 seconds, and then of course I was hooked and went right back to the television.
I continued to watch for another 25 minutes, because you just know at some point the guy's going to wipe out. Not unlike watching a NASCAR race to see who slams against the retaining wall first.
Just when I started thinking "When is this guy going to run out of gas?", the anchors say they're going to stop the coverage of the chase, because the HELICOPTER is running out of gas, and they have no other way to cover the chase. So not only am I dumb enough to watch the car chase for an hour and 20 minutes, but also I'm robbed of the satisfaction of knowing how it finally ended. Talk about Chasus Interruptus.
Now for those of you who have never lived in Los Angeles, you should know that Car Chases are the No. 3 Hobby in L.A. behind Plastic Surgery (No. 1) and Name-Dropping (No. 2).
There's something about the drive-everywhere culture combined with the spider-web network of freeways that makes televised car chases must-see viewing on local Los Angeles television. I would like to say I'm immune to it, but the fact that I am telling you about this story would prove me a liar.
The chase started at about 11:20pm and 45 minutes later, I was still watching when I realized that the speeding motorist was heading south on the 101 and was about to pass my Hollywood apartment which is only about a block away from said freeway. I had the surreal experience of watching the police helicopter's spotlight illuminating the driver's path on TV and listening to the anchor play-by-play coverage, then muting my television to hear that same helicopter buzzing over my house and seeing its spotlight outside my window. I followed the chase live and in person for about 5 seconds, and then of course I was hooked and went right back to the television.
I continued to watch for another 25 minutes, because you just know at some point the guy's going to wipe out. Not unlike watching a NASCAR race to see who slams against the retaining wall first.
Just when I started thinking "When is this guy going to run out of gas?", the anchors say they're going to stop the coverage of the chase, because the HELICOPTER is running out of gas, and they have no other way to cover the chase. So not only am I dumb enough to watch the car chase for an hour and 20 minutes, but also I'm robbed of the satisfaction of knowing how it finally ended. Talk about Chasus Interruptus.
posted by cvo @ 2:49 PM
1 Comments:
At 4:28 PM,
R said…
"I would like to say I'm immune to it, but the fact that I am telling you about this story would prove me a liar."
As Lark is my witness, this is coming from the guy who flipped away from the Rockets - Magic NBA final to force us to watch the OJ car chase.
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