keep those windows down

i was driving home from work yesterday, singing in my car. i do this every time i'm in my car. sometimes i get self-conscious and tone down the volume of my voice when i'm at a stoplight, or stopped in traffic on the freeway. sometimes i'll roll up the windows if i'm at a particularly impassioned point in the song. i was feeling that way yesterday, as i was stop-and-go-ing up the 101, until i noticed the woman in front of me. she was in a sebring convertible, not only singing, but rocking her head back and forth and doing stuff with her hands. she was basically dancing. in her seat. for everyone to see. i noticed the guy in the white van in the lane next to me look over at her and smile to himself. it was at this point that i decided to keep the windows down [i was sweating, after all] and continue singing so that everyone could hear me. if they don't want to hear me, THEY can roll up their windows.

i then thought about driving in la and how much i hate it, but that while 9 times out of 10 i despise the drivers next to, in front of, and behind me for no other reason except that they are congesting my roadway, every once in awhile i find a diamond in the rough [and it is rough].

the proximity in which we drive here in this city is remarkable. there are often times for comments through the window, sometimes entire conversations, before you both "speed" away. and this, i like.

just a few weeks ago i was at a stoplight, singing, when i noticed the guy in the truck next to me try to say something. i turned my music down, rolled my window down the rest of the day and yelled, "what?" he said he noticed the "i love new york" sticker on the back of my car and wanted to tell me about the "best" pizza he'd ever had in new york and asked if i'd ever been there ["it's on ? and ? ave"]. "no, i haven't! but it sounds delicious!" i shouted back, before the light turned green and we were on our way.

another time, i was on my bike, stopped at a stoplight. i sneezed. the guy in the car next to me said 'God bless you' and we exchanged "have a good day"s as the light turned green.

yet another time, chris and i were driving to pick up chinese food when the car next to us asked us for directions. we caught up with them at every subsequent traffic light down the road and chatted the entire way down laurel canyon. we almost asked if they wanted to come hang out with us.

on my way home from work one day last year, i was singing "good day sunshine" at the top of my lungs. coming off the freeway ramp, i noticed the guy in the pick up truck next to me look over at me and smile to himself. i kept singing.

anyway, you get it.
sometimes driving in la can be fun and exciting. you never know who you'll meet, or who is listening to you sing.
so keep singing.
it might be somebody's favorite song.