strange things seen on the 10

Because I own a pickup truck, I had to drive across town to have my vehicle weighed for the labyrinthine State of California registration process. I mean across town. On the way back, I saw an official-looking highway sign for the

BYZANTINE-LATINO QUARTER
Next Exit

I’ve seen this sign twice now, and someone was with me last time, so I’m pretty sure I’m not misreading it. I’m trying to imagine the tens of thousands of bearded Eastern bureaucrats wandering the streets of downtown L.A., and wondering how they get along with their Mexican brothers.

---

I also saw a pickup truck in the emergency lane with a very long piece of lumber leaning on its hood and cab, the other end resting on the ground. If you imagine a triangle whose height is the height of the truck and whose length is the stretch of road in front of the truck, the lumber was the hypotenuse. Oh, hell — I’m drawing a picture.

I assume the truck stopped suddenly and the lumber somehow flew over the cab from the bed. Still, pretty odd to see.