Cops: Marina Del Rey
A shrieking, sobbing, bruised woman running out of her apartment in her underwear.
A cop drawing a 9mm and screaming at three suspects to "get on the fucking ground before I blow your fucking brains out."
Squad cars, ambulances, fire trucks.
Neighbors hanging off terraces and outer stairwells, whispering about the guy in 210 who was beating the crap out of his girlfriend before barricading himself in his apartment.
The three suspects uncuffed, photographing their bruised wrists on camera phones, taking officers' business cards and witnesses' phone numbers, while remarking that as black men, this kind of thing happens around here every single day.
The real perp being carted out of his apartment, unconscious, strapped to a gurney, blood seeping from a head wound through a thick white bandage--
All in the courtyard beneath our 2nd floor terrace.
And yet the only image I keep replaying in my head is that gun in the air, not 20 feet from where my daughter lay sleeping.
We spend so much time as parents worrying about sugar, about TV watching, about Bratz dolls and bedtimes and things that are really so fucking insignificant in the greater scheme of hell that this world too often forces us to confront. Maybe we do because it's too scary to think about those other things, the ones we can't control.
Hug your kids.
A cop drawing a 9mm and screaming at three suspects to "get on the fucking ground before I blow your fucking brains out."
Squad cars, ambulances, fire trucks.
Neighbors hanging off terraces and outer stairwells, whispering about the guy in 210 who was beating the crap out of his girlfriend before barricading himself in his apartment.
The three suspects uncuffed, photographing their bruised wrists on camera phones, taking officers' business cards and witnesses' phone numbers, while remarking that as black men, this kind of thing happens around here every single day.
The real perp being carted out of his apartment, unconscious, strapped to a gurney, blood seeping from a head wound through a thick white bandage--
All in the courtyard beneath our 2nd floor terrace.
And yet the only image I keep replaying in my head is that gun in the air, not 20 feet from where my daughter lay sleeping.
We spend so much time as parents worrying about sugar, about TV watching, about Bratz dolls and bedtimes and things that are really so fucking insignificant in the greater scheme of hell that this world too often forces us to confront. Maybe we do because it's too scary to think about those other things, the ones we can't control.
Hug your kids.
posted by Mom101 at 12:27 AM
49 Comments:
Wow, that's scary. I'm glad you are all okay.
Holy crap! Glad to hear that you and the family are alright. Sounds like a completely freaky experience (and, aside from pesto tomato bagels, sounds like a GREAT reason to come back to NYC.)
But you're totally right on. As my friend James likes to say...things like sugar, TV watching, Bratz dolls and bedtimes are "high-class problems." The vast majority of people are dealing with much more serious issues in their lives. We should be so lucky.
Wow. Welcome to California. I am glad you are ok.
My parents were both cops when I was growing up. My mother changed from a loving, soft mom-type to a cold, sarchastic cop (we dont' talk much now). My son and I recently talked about police work as a profession.
It seems to me that police have to spend their days immersed in the darkest side of human nature. They see so much evil-TRUE evil. It's no wonder my mother is so cynical.
To have one's child so close to that evil is terrifying. Thank God you're ok.
Holy cow. I'm glad that you, Nate, and Thalia are ok.
Perspective is everything. I think I may cave in when Q asks for the second cookie tomorrow.
Oh my god. Terrifying. And so sad.
And I'm SO glad you all are ok.
Yikes. Wow. How scary.
Kids are getting those hugs right now.
Wow! I am glad you are all okay. Not that it can't happen here, but hearing things like that always make me glad I am not a city dweller.
Wow. That is crazy. I love that Thalia slept through it all. Glad you guys are all ok.
Wow, how scary! Poor you, I can just imagine the fear... glad you're okay.
WOW- You know we were in Florida three years ago with 11 other families and all we have are great memories.
My 8 year old said to us the other night at dinner how much he does not like hotels, because of the shooting and the girl he saw crying when we were in Florida. He was 5, and he has not mentioned it once in 3 years. My husband and I are obviously so immune to something like that from watching shows like the Sopranos and such
that we had just completely forgotten about it.
It made me sad that every time he saw a hotel...this was his memory.
I will hug my kids. Such a close call...
Guardian angels surround all 4 of you.
there's a whole lot of scary going around right now (HBM's post also). It's weird because I've been having panic dreams about either one of the kids getting hurt or... and then this morning on the news there was a story about a 1 year old being killed outside a few miles away. At 2am. Outside. (and I hate hate hate to say it, but where where where was his mommy????)
What the fuck is going on?? It's all scaring me shitless.
so glad you're ok. you and nate hold on tight to that girl.
that is so true. glad you are okay.
lisa
Get the back here. Where it's safe!
Perspective is such a good thing. It's just too bad that it takes an incident as violent as the one you witnessed to give us perspective. We all worry about something to the extent that there's room for it. If we're trying to keep our kids from going hungry, we're not going to worry about how much TV they're watching. If we have nice houses, toys for the kids, good food on the table, and lots of it, we're going to worry about rather more trivial issues. It's a shame, really. Think of all that time spent worrying that could be put to better use.
Glad you're all fine.
So sorry you all had to go through that...glad you're ok!
Whirlwind - trying not to be too defensive about cities, but domestic violence happens everywhere.
Wow - so glad you all are okay! Sorry this is the kind of welcome LA chose to give you.
I worry about EVERYTHING - all the truly horrific stuff, plus the horrific stuff that isn't as likely (like terrorist attacks - we live outside DC), plus the trivial, like sugar and TV and Bratz dolls and low-cut pants. That's why I can't watch the news anymore. So so glad you guys are safe, and sorry you had to go through that.
Egads. Very, very scary. But it can really happen anywhere (a husband and wife murder-suicide happened here in quiet ol' hicksville just last week). If I think too much about stuff like this and carjackings, abductions, etc. I would never leave the house. At least I can control Bratz dolls and sugar...
I have thought of this a lot since the storm. It seems crime has exploded in areas that use to be considered safe. Our government even helps the criminals, as far as I am concerned. This is the number one reason people are leaving and not rebuilding New Orleans.
I dont even have the words to express my feelings on this subject. Glad you and your family are safe.
Not that that kinda stuff doesn't happen in the 'burbs but almost being shot on my birthday sealed the deal for us to move out of SF. The random acts of violence are happening to often. I like watching squirrels run up and down the oak trees...
And hey! Marina del Rey! My old stomping grounds...I went to LMU just up the road and spent lots of time sailing and hanging out in that shopping center. (you know the one). Enjoy the sunshine and botox!
Did you check for cameras? I'm glad you guys are okay. Mwah.
Oh and thank you for that last paragraph. Totally agree. We should all be so lucky as to bitch about "stuff" and controlling our kid's environment. It's a good thing to be able to put all that into perspective sometimes.
Thanks for the perspective.
I'm hugging the kids right away. Maybe I can sneak in a wet willy too, before they squirm away.
I'm glad the three of you (and baby on board) are all right.
I grew up in neighborhoods where stuff like this pretty much happened at least once a month.
Thanks for reminding me how lucky I am that this sort of thing is not the scenery of my daily life anymore.
glad you are all OK... that is awful. it's all too much sometimes.
I'm glad you are OK, too. Sad that you've had a shaking, though.
DONE.
I'm glad you're all okay. Shaken up, but okay.
Hugging my kids. And sending you a hug too.
Holy crap, sorry to hear about that terrible experience. Hug Thalia tight. Very scary shit.
You're right. We think if we can "control" the little things, than we're really in control of all the big things, as well. I was actually working on a post today about the illusion of control -- I'd glad you're all OK.
Oh.My.God.
Just like on Law & Order...only for real.
Yes hug our kids. But WHAT are going to do about this? I feel sometimes that we're only inches away from a Mad Max, Clockwork Orange universe and if we aren't careful OUR kids will have kids too angry and alienated even to accept a hug. We have to figure this out and rant, rave and holler to get help.
Oh - and Ms. Liz of course I'm glad all is well. If it's any comfort we were once in a synagogue in Vienna with a kid in a stroller exactly one week to the day before a bomb went off there and killed - a woman and a kid in a stroller. Fate, God, luck - whatever it is - is a strange, strange thing.
It is sad and scary to realize what some people have to live with on a daily basis. But it's also proof that no one is immune from the random violence that seems to be growing every day.
Glad you're all OK.
Hope tomorrow is better.
Carrie
Shit, that is scary. Hope you are able to breathe.
Every place is freakin crazy, it's all relative and when invades our space, that's when it becomes real. So glad you are all right. Hopefully that doesn't happen every day.
Wow. I'm so glad you're all okay.
Wow. Thank goodness you guys are okay.
thats so scary. it definitely makes me want to give my daughter a big hug. seeing as its past midnight, i'll settle for just going in her room and tucking the blankets around her...
[i happened across your blog. hope you dont mind me stopping by]
did you get my email?
xo
Bossy thinks she just pooped her pajamas.
Wow that sounds so scary. We had a drive by shooting here in Denver last year and 2 little girls asleep in their bed got hit with the bullets. (They were ok, thank god) But it really does waken you up to the world around you.
I am glad you are all safe. Relieved. Equally as important as you continue your journey as parents is for you and Nate to embrace the attitude of not sweating the small stuff, like you described. The big stuff these days is so big - worrying about insignificant things really relinquishes much of joyful time, in my opinion
Jesus H. Christ! Move back to Brooklyn, where it's safe!
I'm glad you guys are OK, but shudder that this sort of thing can intrude on our plans, our hopes, our sense of peace. One stupid idiot can do so much damage.
But I'm still going to worry about sugar and TV watching. Look what it did to me!
Glad you and your family are ok. Thanks for reminding me of only one of the many reasons my wife and I moved from L.A. to raise our young boys in a better environment. You are correct in that this stuff can happen anywhere, including where we are now, but the frequency of it happening here doesn't even begin to approach that of L.A. land.
Hey, thanks for that rcwbiologist.
From the lady who's moving her family to LA this summer.
Oh, pleh. I grew up in L.A., and most of my family still lives there. It's the same as any big city: There are nice parts, and not-so-nice parts, but I miss it and would have no qualms about raising my kids out there.
Oh, wow! I would be shaking with terror.
I'm going to hug my son close again soon.
I'm so glad you're all okay.
Hey, Liz, don't let the silly ex-L.A. people scare you. I live in the most dangerous city in the country, at least according to that Morgan Qunito Dangerous Cities thingmabob. Then after my hometown is Detroit, and then Flint, MI, and then, ONLY then, do we see Compton.
So, clearly, as long as you steer clear of the Midwest (where, I have heard, we sometimes so terrorize tourists with our scary Midwestern hair that they just drop their wallets and run straight to the airport), you'll be relatively safe.
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