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The closest Taco Bell location to me is on the southeast corner of Prairie Ave. and Century Bl. in Inglewood, directly across the street caddy-corner from the world famous Hollywood Park hotel / casino / horse track. Hollywood Park and its grounds are lovely, but the neighborhoods to the south and west it are all a bunch of depressing dumps. Every time I've gone there after dark, I've witnessed something crazy going on nearby, as these charming examples demonstrate:
Item 1- Frightened Hooker
Around 8:00, I was headed home from a nearby "gentlemen's club" when I got the craving for a Baja chalupa and a Burrito Supreme. As I'm about to turn into the driveway, I looked over to my left and saw a scary sight. A very small / petite, overly made-up, and possibly underage streetwalker sprinting down the sidewalk at top speed. Her face was covered in blood, her bright red halter top was torn, she was barefoot, and she had a look of sheer terror on her face. I wasn't sure if I should call 911 on my cell phone, or just stay out of it. She bolted into a nearby gas station and that was that. I didn't see anybody chasing her though.
Item 2- Ugly Domestic Dispute
There I am, sitting in the drive-thru around 10:00 when I see a feuding couple directly across the street. They were Spanish-speaking, mid to late 30s, and looked like they didn't have much. Anyways, the guy goes storming across the street with the woman pursing him and grabbing on to his dirty, dingy, threadbare denim jacket. There they are, having a huge blowout right on the corner across the street. The guy is in a rage. He didn't lay a hand on her, but they'e almost nose-to-nose with him screaming at her in Spanish at the top of his lungs. Suddenly he says something to her ( I don't know what ) that causes her to collapse into uncontrollable sobs. Looking completely broken, she walks right out into THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION and just stands there, still crying hysterically while the guy is still screaming at her from the corner. A few minutes later an unmarked white van and a black and white patrol car swoop up. A woman officer throws a blanket around the woman ( it was wintertime ) and leads her to the van. The two patrol officers handcuff the guy and haul him to the patrol car. As they pass, the guy tries to kiss her on the cheek and she jerks away from him.
Item 3- Scared White College Couple
I walk in there about 7:00. Out in the parking lot is a homeless, filthy, deranged blonde sifting through her shopping cart while having an angry, agitated conversation with herself. Inside the restaurant is a rough-looking older black dude wearing baggy pants and shirt. Parked right by the door is his rusty old beach cruiser bicycle with a huge radio strapped to the back blaring vintage Dr. Dre. Standing off to the side is this 18-25ish white couple. They just looked like a couple of clean-cut college kids. I can only assume that they were either tourists or were attending a concert at Hollywood Park or The Forum nearby. They looked totally out of place and were obviously VERY uncomfortable being there. They both looked scared / nervous as hell. They eyed me nervously until I ordered my food and took a cell phone call from my mom. When I got my food I turned around and they were GONE. They weren't in the restaurant or even out in the parking lot. I don't know where they could've gone so quickly, but they were OUTTA THERE.
Item 4- Drunk Big Woman Crashes Her Junky Little Car
After leaving this same Taco Bell, I see an extremely beat up early 90's Toyota Corolla weaving back and forth in the far left lane. Suddenly it makes a hard left and high-sides itself on the concrete center island. Myself and a couple other people stop to see if the driver is okay. The creaky driver's door swings open and this HUGE black woman, wearing a tank top and short shorts at least two sizes too small, comes stumbling out. She's like "WTF happened?" Her speech is slurred and she can barely stand up. DUI. It's obvious that her battered ride wasn't going anywhere, so I left. I'm sure someone called 911 by then.
Item 1- Frightened Hooker
Around 8:00, I was headed home from a nearby "gentlemen's club" when I got the craving for a Baja chalupa and a Burrito Supreme. As I'm about to turn into the driveway, I looked over to my left and saw a scary sight. A very small / petite, overly made-up, and possibly underage streetwalker sprinting down the sidewalk at top speed. Her face was covered in blood, her bright red halter top was torn, she was barefoot, and she had a look of sheer terror on her face. I wasn't sure if I should call 911 on my cell phone, or just stay out of it. She bolted into a nearby gas station and that was that. I didn't see anybody chasing her though.
Item 2- Ugly Domestic Dispute
There I am, sitting in the drive-thru around 10:00 when I see a feuding couple directly across the street. They were Spanish-speaking, mid to late 30s, and looked like they didn't have much. Anyways, the guy goes storming across the street with the woman pursing him and grabbing on to his dirty, dingy, threadbare denim jacket. There they are, having a huge blowout right on the corner across the street. The guy is in a rage. He didn't lay a hand on her, but they'e almost nose-to-nose with him screaming at her in Spanish at the top of his lungs. Suddenly he says something to her ( I don't know what ) that causes her to collapse into uncontrollable sobs. Looking completely broken, she walks right out into THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION and just stands there, still crying hysterically while the guy is still screaming at her from the corner. A few minutes later an unmarked white van and a black and white patrol car swoop up. A woman officer throws a blanket around the woman ( it was wintertime ) and leads her to the van. The two patrol officers handcuff the guy and haul him to the patrol car. As they pass, the guy tries to kiss her on the cheek and she jerks away from him.
Item 3- Scared White College Couple
I walk in there about 7:00. Out in the parking lot is a homeless, filthy, deranged blonde sifting through her shopping cart while having an angry, agitated conversation with herself. Inside the restaurant is a rough-looking older black dude wearing baggy pants and shirt. Parked right by the door is his rusty old beach cruiser bicycle with a huge radio strapped to the back blaring vintage Dr. Dre. Standing off to the side is this 18-25ish white couple. They just looked like a couple of clean-cut college kids. I can only assume that they were either tourists or were attending a concert at Hollywood Park or The Forum nearby. They looked totally out of place and were obviously VERY uncomfortable being there. They both looked scared / nervous as hell. They eyed me nervously until I ordered my food and took a cell phone call from my mom. When I got my food I turned around and they were GONE. They weren't in the restaurant or even out in the parking lot. I don't know where they could've gone so quickly, but they were OUTTA THERE.
Item 4- Drunk Big Woman Crashes Her Junky Little Car
After leaving this same Taco Bell, I see an extremely beat up early 90's Toyota Corolla weaving back and forth in the far left lane. Suddenly it makes a hard left and high-sides itself on the concrete center island. Myself and a couple other people stop to see if the driver is okay. The creaky driver's door swings open and this HUGE black woman, wearing a tank top and short shorts at least two sizes too small, comes stumbling out. She's like "WTF happened?" Her speech is slurred and she can barely stand up. DUI. It's obvious that her battered ride wasn't going anywhere, so I left. I'm sure someone called 911 by then.
Too true. I lived at 103rd and Western, and it's amazing how quickly the neighborhoods change in that area. You'd have been fine on the west side of the Ryan - the east, not so much.
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