Every once in awhile LA will surprise you... and so will its people. Buzz got a high off of the SMDP editor’s heartwarming story recently when she learned first-hand that not all people will lie, cheat and steal from you at the first chance they get. Out on the town one recent Friday night, the overworked local journalist hit a few watering holes in downtown Santa Monica.
Because carrying a purse is really not her style if not a bit cumbersome, the SMDP editor stuffed her credit card, debit card and driver’s license in a her jacket breast pocket. But when she finally made it out of a Fairmont Miramar hotel room at 3:30 a.m., the plastic had gone missing. Fearing that she left it at the last bar or even worse, dropped it somewhere in her travels, the foggy editor called the banks and canceled everything, assuming someone hanging around downtown Santa Monica would be just dishonest enough to take advantage of the find. You know journalists are a pessimistic bunch... But to her surprise, when she returned to work on the following Sunday, there was an e-mail from a guy named Michael Scot who informed her that he had stumbled upon her identity and credit card in an alley off the Promenade. He apparently Googled the editor’s name and found her electronic address. Thank God for the worldwide web and honest people. Nice work, Michael Scot. You’re going to heaven!......Buzz can’t say the same for a certain guy who refused to be kind and generous to Buzz last week when he was having a nicotine withdrawal. Vowing to never smoke again, Buzz found himself in search of a cancer stick only hours after his latest internal quit time had been set. He approached a guy at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Third Street who just happened to have a pack of smokes in his hand.“Hey buddy, got an extra smoke?” Buzz begged. “Sorry, I’d give you one if I wasn’t homeless.” Infuriated either from the denial or the lack of nicotine going through his veins, Buzz lashed back saying it is the kindness and generosity of others that made it possible for him to even have the pack of cigarettes in the first place. What an ungrateful bunch. That’s it. No more hand-outs for anyone......Now that City Hall is on this customer service kick, head honchos might want to consider taking a look at their automated systems, particularly when it comes to paying parking tickets.
If getting pinched at Santa Monica Place for leaving one’s car in the parking garage for more than three hours isn’t enough to drive people crazy, trying to pay the fine by phone just might.
Recently, Buzz tried to give the bloodsuckers in parking enforcement some of his hard-earned cash to pay a violation for parking over the posted limit, but after about 10 minutes of listening to a recording, the system would not accept payment because of a malfunction of some sort.
Why didn’t this prompt alert Buzz of that fact before wasting valuable time listening to some soothing female voice telling him to push buttons? Who knows? But one thing’s for sure, Buzz’s buttons definitely got pushed. He’d go deeper into explaining his emotions, but he has to move his car......On the eavesdropping front... over-heard in the Hear Music Starbucks line, Buzz thought he had a celebrity sighting when a woman looking very similar to Sheryl Crow was a few caffeine junkies ahead. Sizing her up as she walked away with her guy pal, Buzz learned quickly is was not the musical godess when out of her mouth came, “I told her to shake it and she stirred it. I was like shake it, you cow!” Something tells Buzz Miss Crow would be a bit more grateful and gracious than this mean, bitter LA woman. Chill out, relax. Life isn’t that bad lady.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 11, 2006. Read the original PDF.