I don’t remember exactly how the two LADOT (Los Angeles Department of Transportation) plastic cones ended up in our garage, but I think they had been placed on the road in front of our driveway at some point when our home or garage or driveway was being rebuilt after the fire, perhaps to prevent people from blocking the area. At any rate, they were left behind, and David stashed them in our garage to get them out of the way. They have been sitting there for a year and a half, causing garage clutter.

 A couple of similar LADOT cones

Somehow my day got away from me, and I didn’t manage to give anything away while it was still daylight. I remembered the cones in the garage and decided it was time to give them back to the LADOT somehow. So, I heaved the cones into my car and drove down the street to the area near our local lake (Silver Lake) where the Department of Water and Power is digging up the street to place new pipes that will run from the reservoir north of here to South Central Los Angeles. The street will be dug up for the next year and a half, much to the chagrin of local homeowners, who have to put up with the dust, noise and blockages, and all the people who enjoy walking along Silver Lake Reservoir, including me. Recently, I haven’t been going on my daily walk because my breathing is not strong yet and I’m worried the dust will aggravate my cough, but I hope to get back into my regular walking routine soon, perhaps with the help of a snazzy face mask. I parked my car where the road closure began and pulled out the cones.

Under the cover of darkness, I sneakily carried them over to the ROAD CLOSED sign and placed them right beside it, hoping that no one could see. It would be very hard to explain my action to anyone sane.  If I could get out of there quickly, I was sure no one would notice the addition of new cones there come the morning. It would be as if they had been there all along. Other than a man walking a dog on the other side of the street, there was no one in sight so I succeeded in my peculiar mission. I guess that technically today’s Giveaway is more of a Giveback, but I am hoping that my sneaky nocturnal activity is good enough karma to help speed up the road works a little so that our neighbors will be enjoy their walk along the lake again soon.