You’ve probably read through some of the other ‘crazy lori stories’… it’s true what my brother says, “These things only happen to my Sister!”

Here is the most recent…

I left for work early this morning… and was driving across the 56 freeway. This is a short 7 mile freeway, that runs east/west, connecting the 2 major freeways (I-5 / I-15) which go north/south through Southern California. At this time of the morning there are typically very few people on the road… and I typically set my cruise control at a level slightly over the speed limit. (To say anymore about the speed at which I was travelling might implicate me… so I will not admit it in this public forum. ahem…)

Note to other drivers… while driving it is a good habit to watch your rear-view mirrors for cars speeding up on you … I was this morning.  And what I witnessed still has me shaking…

I saw a rather large vehicle (even though it was dark outside I could tell it was a tall vehicle and had BIG lights) … but it wasn’t the size of the vehicle that caught my attention.  It was the fact that this large of a vehicle was weaving in / out of traffic and going MUCH faster than I was.  This large vehicle was shortening the gap between the two of us at a very high rate of speed.

As it was approaching I wondered if it was an ambulance due to the tall profile…

But when it whizzed passed me I could see it was a work van of some sort, a grey/silver Ford Econoline with a work rack on top (and it was lifted) … I’d guess the driver was bearing down on 100 mph… still swerving in and out of the cars in the 2 lanes of traffic.  He was moving so fast I couldn’t even move to the right to get out of the fast lane.   He passed me on the right and swerved back over in front of me with just enough time to slam on his brakes to avoid the next car directly in front of me/him.

This isn’t the worst of it…

NEXT… I see a much smaller car behind him by a few car lengths… but driving much faster and much more erratic.

I was going to stay put right where I was for this one too… these drivers are racing?!  Is it road rage?

And he didn’t slow down!  Just kept swerving back and forth between cars…

And then it happened… this small four-door sedan drove BETWEEN me and the car next to me… yes, he/she was straddling the middle of the road and driving between us!!!!

What did I do next?

Well, I bet you can guess.  I shakily called 911 to report 2 dangerous drivers…

Of course I did!  I knew I was not in danger (but rather shaken) … but who knows what damage they might cause in front of me or to any of the other drivers on the road.  The 911 operator answered immediately (THANK YOU!) and I provided what little details I had of these vehicles … the second vehicle flew by so fast that I didn’t even see what color it was!

I reported what happened, my location and what I could provide.  But we were fast approaching the I-5 freeway and they would have to either go north or south…  They were so far ahead of me at that point that I couldn’t see which way they went.

Until…

Until… I got to my exit and I saw the silver work van at the light in front of me turning right…  (unfortunately there was no sign of the little dare-devil sedan-driver).

So then what did I do?  Well, of course I called 911 again to report his location… and of course I followed him!  (Of course I did!)

But he was going so fast at that point that I lost him again.

So, I decided to turn around in the shopping center parking lot about a mile up the road …  and who was sitting in the McDonald’s drive through?!

You guessed it!  The silver work van!!!

And what did I do next?!  Yes, I called 911 again… I parked in front of the McDonald’s and promptly provided them with the driver’s description and his license plate number.

I don’t know what the authorities are going to do with this info… but I’d really like it if they at least warned this guy!

I’m glad I’m safe and sound… and I’m glad there was no accident from the reckless driving…

Take away from this?  Hanging out with Lori could put you in harm’s way… and yes, I’m a snitch when others are putting my life in danger… deal with it!  (And I say that in the kindest way…)

Pulling from the memory banks today… going back to around 1998, I think.  At least I remember which car I was driving at that time and where I was driving to.  So that helps me pinpoint a date.

 

I was driving home from work… down the “main drag” in town, around 4:30 pm.  Centre City Parkway is the original highway that used to go through town before the Hwy 395 was laid down.  It’s a divided “highway”, two lanes in each direction… between the lanes is a large grassy median planted with trees and shrubs of varying sizes.  There are several stop lights along this “highway” and it tends to get a bit backed up when people are getting off of work.

As I slowed to approach the stop light I noticed a white 2-door hatchback parked on the shoulder.  The car was rocking back and forth and I could see a struggle was taking place inside the car.  As I slowly passed the car I saw a man in the driver’s seat, reaching across to the passenger seat and struggling with a woman.

Without thinking, but internally knowing it was the right thing to do (to get involved) I immediately whipped a U-turn at the light and another U-turn over the grassy median.  As I pulled up behind the white car I remember thinking to myself “Everyone else is driving right by this?!  No one else is stopping to intervene?!”

And this is the part of the story where my mom freaks out, every time…

I parked my car.  Walked up to the driver’s side door… and as I got closer I could see the man in the driver’s seat had his hands around the throat of the woman in the passenger’s seat.    As I opened the driver’s door I noticed there was a little girl in the backseat, witnessing all of this drama, crying and looking very scared.

Yanking on the driver’s door handle I was YELLING at him to stop.  Thankfully this caught him by surprise and he let go of the woman’s throat long enough for her to hop out of the car and start running.  (Thankfully he didn’t pull a gun on me.  This is the part my mom is the most thankful for, I believe.)   He turned around to look at me and got out of the car.  She hopped over a fence to get farther away from this villain.  He started to chase her.

I picked up the girl from the back seat and held on to her and told her I was going to stay with her until help arrived.  I asked her what was happening and all I can remember her saying to me is “He was choking my mommy!”   I asked if he was her dad.  No.  She said he was her mom’s boyfriend.  I wanted to chase him down and kick him a few times, just to let him see how it felt.

Eventually, someone else pulled over to the shoulder and luckily had a cell phone and had called 911.  Turns out she was a social worker!   She took care of the little girl while I provided my report to the Police when they arrived.  The victimized woman eventually returned… once she saw the police had arrived.  The cops told me they couldn’t necessarily do anything about the man unless the victim pressed charges.  I pleaded with the woman to protect herself and her daughter and press charges against the man.

Unfortunately she did not press charges that day… instead they got back in their car and went home together.  Who knows what happened to their relationship and more importantly to that woman and her daughter.  Who knows if she ever found the courage to press charges against this villain.  If my actions encouraged her to do so, I would be honored to know so.

To this day I pray for her, still trying to remember her name… and wondering if she and her daughter are safe.   And every now and then I picture the scared look on his face when someone finally stood up to him … he was just another scared, lonely man…

I’m once again recalling one of those “crazy lori stories”… this one happened about nine years ago, I believe.

At that time I had a roommate, Debbie.  It was mid-afternoon on a cool Fall day (I believe).  I believe it was Fall or Spring… reason?  All of the windows and front door were thrown open to let the beauty come inside.  So it must have been a perfect day…

Such a perfect day that I was napping on the couch in the living room.  Debbie was in her room, I believe she was enjoying a nap as well…

There we were.  It was a beautiful day.  Naps were in order… and all of a sudden I jolted awake to a helicopter hovering.  Cop cars coming to a screeching halt in front of the house… and from my vantage point on the couch, looking towards the front door I see a police officer walking down my sidewalk, passed the front door towards the back yard.  I jumped up to check out was crazy action was taking place in my back yard… and I saw a police officer peaking over my fence towards my neighbors’ yards, with his right hand on his holster.

As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes I noticed there was a void where where there used to be a branch from my neighbor’s avocado tree hanging over the fence… it looked like the branch had been pulled down/over on the other side of the fence. 

I got the officer’s attention and quickly and quietly pointed out change in foliage fullness.  (Is that a technical term?!)  He peered over the fence … and apparently found their suspect hiding on my neighbor’s property.

What did this suspect do?  Great question…

If I’m remembering it correctly:  He had been stalking his girlfriend a few blocks away by standing outside one of her windows… with a machete.  She called the cops.  He ran… with a machete.   He ran up our street, into our alley, down my sidewalk (right passed my open front door) and hopped over the fence… with a machete.  The cops found him hiding… with a machete.

I am SOOOOOOO grateful that he ran PASSED the front door while I was sleeping instead of up my stairs and into the house.  So, so, so grateful.  So grateful that our local officers found him and did their jobs that day!

And for the record, that’s the last time I took a nap on the couch with the front door open…

Here’s another one for ya… these things only happen to me.  While this happened about 10 years ago I just had to share.

My drive to work in the morning used to involve driving a road that followed along a body of water, on the side of a mountain… it is  1-lane in each direction.  Then you would descend off the mountain and into one of the most beautiful areas in San Diego…. Rancho Santa Fe.  This part of town is also known to be one of the most expensive zip codes to live in.

This morning it was light outside as I drove to work at 5:45 am.  And I had recently found a new back road that would allow me to pass up some of the morning traffic.  It was a residential street… again 1 lane in each direction.  And it quickly became apparent that I wasn’t moving fast enough for the little 4-door behind me.  Because all of a sudden this little car veered around me, into the oncoming traffic lane and the driver stepped on it.  (Note:  if you’ve ever driven in a car with me you know I’m not a SLOW driver.  So, what was he thinking?!)  Stay with me here… this is where it gets interesting.

As he passed me I looked ahead to see a car coming towards him in his lane and in turn I slowed down to help him get back over into the correct lane… it’s the least I could do to avoid an accident.  The car passing me obviously sped up… and made the move to get back over into the correct lane.  But what happened next is similar to what you see in movies.

As he swerved back into the lane, about 50 yards in front of me, it was apparent he was losing control of the car.  He swerved, and then corrected his steering and then corrected again… and then lost control.  The car turned sideways, sliding on the pavement…

I started to slow and reached for my cell phone.  There was obviously going to be an accident.  I should call the authorities.

…and then right before my eyes the carf FLIPPED, side over side… bouncing down the road…

As the dust started to settle and I could see that the car came to rest on the passengers’ side doors, with the top of the car leaning against the front gate/brick walls of a nice stately mansions.  There was considerable damage to the property…

And what do you think happened next?!  The three individuals climbed throught the door windows (front and back) on the driver’s side of the car and started to run away from the accident.

Yes, you read that correctly…

 While on the phone w/ the 911 dispatcher I went into action… I started running  after the punks (in my work shoes, skirt and all) and yelled at them to STOP!!!  I kept chasing them and yelling “STOP!!!” at the top of my lungs.  (The 911 dispatcher eventually asked me to stop yelling in her ear.  Oops!)  I must have an authoritative yell… because I’m happy to report that all 3 of the punks turned around and started walking back toward the damaged car!!! 

Here it was … 6 am in Rancho Santa Fe and I stood on the side of the road, talking to 911 on my cell phone, giving these punks the stink eye and thinking to myself “Did they really just stop and turn around and come back to the scene of the crime?!   They might regret that when U.S. Customs comes to pick them up.”

My work here is done…

(For the inquiring minds… I do not believe anyone was home at the property that was damaged as no one came out to look at the damage to their property.  So I felt obligated to wait it out at the scene of the accident to find out what was going to happen to the punks.  After pressing the Sheriff as to their status he asked for their ids.  The punks, of the day laborer variety, were hauled by Immigration.  The gate/wall was eventually fixed … a much bigger, nicer fence this time.)

I’m recounting this over 10 years later… but it’s one of those events that stuck with me.   Yet another “crazy Lori story”…

It happened in 1991.  There I was, downtown San Diego.  I was with some fellow high school seniors attending a job fair, I think.  Or was it a college fair?  I don’t remember.  We drove 30 miles from our high school to attend an event related to our future…. and that’s when I saw my past flash before my eyes.

We were walking back from our destination (or was it TO our destination?)… it doesn’t matter.   We were standing at the corner of a busy intersection, waiting for the green/pedestrian light so we could cross the street.  And before our ears could register the sound of the crash we saw it happen right before our eyes. 

A tow truck clipped a utility truck and came to a halt, which in turn caused the minivan to smash into the back of a large vehicle.  The sliding down on the passenger side of the minivan suddenly popped off the hinge and launched into the air.  The door started a spiral towards us, eventually sliding along the pavement in our direction.

We found ourselves  doing what we could to jump up and back to avoid the impact of the large piece of metal and padding and fabric that was getting ready to do some major damage to our lower extremities.  

Once the door came to a halt (6 inches in front of us) we looked at each other… and then noticed there were at least 6 stunned children and 1 flustered mom/driver in that minivan.  We jumped into action to check on the screaming kids and to ask the mom if she was ok.  Everyone was fine physically, but a bit distraught (to say the least). 

I don’t remember what happened after that… but it was just another reminder that you just don’t know what could happen while you stand there waiting for a green light…

Over the years I have accumulated a number of Crazy Lori Stories… or as my brother calls them “It-would-only-happen-to-MY-sister story”.  These are the types of things that JUST HAPPEN.

So after many years of collecting these crazy stories I am finding that I need to put them here on my blog… so I will be adding some old stories here and tagging them as “Crazy Lori Story”.  I hope you enjoy reading them just as much as I have revelled in reliving them over the years.

Disclaimer:  This random stuff happens quite often when I’m around.  Know me , hang around me and love me at your own risk.

If you’ve known me for a while then you know I often have rather strange things happen in my world (like the homeless lady sleeping in the elevator, who I thought was dead when the door opened, and when I yelled at her she started chasing me through the parking lot!  Remember?!  ) … well here is today’s crazy story … it has a good ending.  But it all seemed very ominous as it was happening.

Yesterday morning driving to work I saw a tow truck parked on the side of the 56 freeway (on the opposite side of the freeway) with its hazard lights on and I could see the shadow of someone sitting inside the cab.  It looked like his head was hanging forward – like he was taking a nap in his truck at 5:30 am or something?  I don’t know what he was doing – but I noticed he was sitting there.

Fast forward to the end of the work day… when I left work I saw a tow truck, with someone sitting in it, in the exact same place on the freeway.  No movement inside the truck… with its hazard lights on, etc.  At that point I was slightly concerned.  Truck in same place?  Person still inside cab of truck?  It’s now 8 hours later and the hazards are still on?  If my cell phone had been working I would have called CHP and asked someone to check on the truck driver to make sure he was OK.  But alas, my cell phone is very dead currently.  (And I was hoping the truck driver wasn’t dead also.)

So, fast forward AGAIN to this morning – tow truck AGAIN in the same place on the freeway, with someone sitting in the cab, hazard lights on, etc…. and my heart started racing.  Immediately I think to myself – “I HAVE to go check on him to see what’s going on here.  But I don’t have a phone.  If he’s not responsive I’m going to have to flag someone else down to stop and hope they have a cell phone so they can call for help.”  In the meantime, I got off the freeway and back on (in the opposite direction) to circle around and park behind him.  I stopped, with my truck running and lights on, lighting up the back of his truck.

As I walk up behind the truck I can hear my own heart beating in my chest.  And I was praying for this individual… and praying that I wouldn’t find a dead person in the cab of the truck.

Keep in mind… it’s 5:30 am and it’s still dark outside.  I walk up to the door, looking for any movement inside the truck, and all of a sudden a head pops out!  I just about jumped out of my skin…

Thank goodness I could see the whites of his eyes…. or I would have freaked out for sure!  (Deep breath… OK – he’s alive!)  I take a deep sigh and start laughing at him…. he looks confused.  I fumbled to find the words to explain to him the whole drama that was unfolding in my creative imagination and we had a good laugh together on the side of the freezing cold freeway at 5:30 am.  He thanked me for stopping…

Apparently this was the tow company’s favorite spot to park along this freeway… and when the person on shift had some downtime they would park here.   Over the last two days I had seen the same tow truck… with someone different inside of it just waiting for another call.

 

No this wasn’t a dream… this is just the world I live in…