Only In The Streets Of LA

I was driving after work to the Hoya's place to go out to dinner. I was driving North on this street called Highland Avenue to get to the 101 North.

Just driving along minding my own business. I had the window down, playing some tunes, just driving.

I am stopped in traffic and I see about 8-10 police cars driving south on Highland. They were kind of driving slowly, positioning themselves around traffic, turning their lights on and off, but no sirens.

It seemed really, really strange, so I started to look around for some explanation. Maybe a police funeral, maybe a police escort, politician, something. But it was only police cars, a lot of them.

I was coming up to a street called Fountain. I was a couple of blocks south of the light and the police cars had just driven through the light coming toward me. There are about 12 cop cars or so.

All at once every cop got out of the car and draw their revolvers and point them at the cars in front of them. Then I take a look at MY situation.

The police cars are all about 30 yards diagonally to my left. The cars that they are pointing their revolvers at is just to my left and a little ahead of me. Since they all have their revolvers drawn and there are about 20 or so cops, this must be a serious situation. IF shots are fired I am just inside their line of fire.

I have my widow down so I can hear the cops shouting "Driver of the car, let me see your hands, put your hands out of the window."

The car in front of them is a big black SUV. A Yukon. BUT, there is a smaller four door sedan in front of the Yukon. Because he is in front of the Yukon, he can't really see what is going on in back of him. All he can see are some cops off to the side and hear a cop shouting to put his hands out. So the driver of the sedan puts his hands out of the window. The cop keeps yelling for the driver to put his hands out of the window. So the guy in the sedan puts his hands further out the window, and then sticks his head out.

The cops yells to the guy in the sedan to keep moving and then yells "Driver of the Yukon, put your hands out."

I see in MY rearview mirror that more police cars are blocking of the street behind me, closing off the street from the south. And two more cops cars have now blocked the street going in my direction and are motioning for my car and the cars next to me to move around him and get clear.

I follow the cops direction and drive around the police car. As I drove past the car they had pulled over, I looked and saw the guy they were worried about and it was just some middle aged guy. The whole thing only took a couple of minutes, but it was a STRANGE couple of minutes

Never did find out what happened.

Ups and Downs

The Hoya and I went to California Adventure last week. California Adventure is the Disney theme park right next door to Disneyland. It has some fun stuff, but overall it is a poor man's Disneyland with none of the nostalgia that Disneyland has.

We were eating lunch at this cafe, I had the $8 roastbeef sandwich, and as I stood up this guy who was walking back from throwing away his food stopped me. He reached out his hand and said:

"I don't know where I know you, but I recognize you. I'm John Powers"

So I shook his hand and said:

"Hi, I'm Bryan"

Then I walked to the bathroom. In the bathroom, I kept thinking where I might have run into that guy, working catering, performing improv, but I couldn't place it. Then it hit me. John Powers thinks that I am someone famous. That he saw me on tv or in the movies and wanted to shake my hand.

I went back and discussed it with The Hoya and we both agreed that he probably mistook me for someone else. Maybe Patrick Swayze.

But on the ride home I started thinking that maybe I have a shot at making it out here. If people already think they know me from stuff, maybe I am destined to be on tv or in the movies.

Without knowing it, John Powers had filled me with confidence.

Then two days later I got this letter from my commercial agent.

After close review we have not been able to service you to the best of our ability. Therefore we are releasing you from your commitment to LA TALENT. We wish you the best of luck in the future.

I felt really bad after I got that, but then again, I only got 3 auditions from this agency in 8 months and 2 of the 3 were non-speaking roles. So maybe I am better off without them.

I have a lead on some other agents and maybe they will be better for me.

Can't be any worse. And if all else fails, I will always have John Powers.