San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, October, 1991

It was about 10:00 pm on a Saturday night. I was 15, intoxicated, and driving my mom’s black Nissan Maxima down a wide four lane street named, Vanowen. Kojak, Crazyface, and Milo were with me. A solid team of very funny people.

As we were cruising we suddenly notice three guys riding bicycles on the side of the road. It stood out because, odd as it may sound, the San Fernando was so centered around cars at the time that you just didn’t see people riding bikes. Maybe at a park but as transportation or leisure much and especially not at night. just don’t do that around here – kinda makes you a target. : ) So we decided to mess with them. Nothing too crazy. . I just rolled up next to them and we screamed at them. Kinda sucks when I think back about it because they looked so peaceful riding along the road like that, minding their own business. Anyway, the one black guy flinched so hard he almost fell off his bike and I sware to G-d it was Wesley freakin Snipes.

Yes, it was him so don’t even start!

We pass them up laughing and we have this mini debate in the car whether or not it was really Wes. I knew it was him. It it so hard to believe? It’s LA. Sometimes somebody is famous. Get over it! Crazyface believed it. We figured the two big white dudes he was with were his bodyguards (good job guys).

So, we make a left at the next street, drive down about a block while I’m keeping an eye on the rearview, watchin to see Wes cross the intersection. When I saw him, I just got this impulse to make a U-turn and keep fucking with him. (What? It’s Saturday night!) So, he sees me make this U-turn from a block away and I’m sure he got a little spooked so he lifts his shirt to show us he’s “strapped” (do people still say that?).

But we couldn’t really see shit from that far away. So, my friends are yellin “He’s strapped, he’s strapped.” But I guess I kinda thought he was bluffing? So I say, “I think he’s bluffin!” real naive like and keep driving towards him.

Everyone in my car at this point pretty much thought it was a bad idea but in those days I had a little street cred (believe it or not!)

plus I was the driver so no one could really stop me (your lives are now in the hands of a stoned 15 year old).

So, Wesley crosses the intersection (Vanowen and Tampa for those fact checking!) and I make a left turn so that I’m now coming from behind him again, creepin up slow.

(This is where it gets a little surreal.) As I’m slowly approaching from behind he turns his head and sees us. HE THEN JUMPS OFF HIS BIKE, PULLS OUT A GUN and starts running straight towards our car, gun pointing THROUGH MY HEAD! I mean, its like he jumped out of New Jack City or something!

I yell, “Down! Down!” Everybody ducks fast as hell! My head is all crammed below the steering wheel and shit. I don’t even want to peak my head so I just spin the wheel to the right and skid out down an alley.

We make it back onto the main road and Kojak is in the back freakin out about how he almost got shot, kinda yelllin at me and stuff. Everyone else is pretty much feeling the same way (myself included but I am trying to play it off – street cred, right?). I was feeling a little defensive by this point, since I almost killed us all at the hands of Passenger 57!, but still managed to defend my position saying things like, “Hey, we’re alive, right? We’re cool. Chill out. It’s over. That was crazy, huh? (anyone?)” Crazyface had my back (he was fakin it).

So, Monday rolls around, we’re back at school and I’m ready to share the weekend’s adventures. I mean I really wanted tell people about this one but, NOBODY believed me. I couldn’t believe it! No way! All that and we couldn’t even share?! That sucks! I had this crazy story and everybody just thought it was bullshit (like it sounded?).

I was hearing things from, “What was he doing out here, Snipes is from NY” to just “You gonna eat your hash brown?” All that until half breed (Blade term) Snipes got arrested a couple months later for carrying a gun, where else, but in the San Fernando Valley. He was filming Passenger 57 at Universal Studios at the time. REDEMPTION BIAAATCH!

That’s my story. It’s a true story. Believe it or not.

P.S. Wesley, if you’re reading this, I still hate you but Blade was dope.

© eric rabichow 2009