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KTLA reporter Lu Parker blogged recently about taking her boyfriend's 16-year-old daughter out for a driving lesson in Parker's car. I guess we can assume that is Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's daughter Natalia Fe she's talking about. We're not in the habit here of writing about the mayor's children, but as you can see from Parker's account, the experience is mostly about her anyway. Excerpt:
She had sweaty palms. I was stressed out. It’s the best way to describe my first experience riding in a car with a 16 year old behind the wheel. It happened recently, and even though I had offered my boyfriend’s daughter the chance to drive my car for practice several times, she had never said yes, until now. I realized once we got in the vehicle, and the doors closed, I was now officially a grown-up....We laughed as she drove slowly and cautiously along a residential street, her foot still figuring out the brakes. With her hands, 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, we approached our first stop sign. At this point, I realized how focused she was on doing everything right, but it also made me realize how unaware I am when I drive. Often, there’s no time to come to a complete stop. It’s just one of many sad reminders that I would realize on this journey.
Two minutes later, while sitting at a stop sign trying to figure out who goes first, we get our first horn. She freezes. I become anxious, and want to yell, “Can’t you see this is a new driver?” The guy behind us has no time for it, and beeps again.
They practiced some turns and drove on Sunset Boulevard, and all ended safely: "In the end, she had learned some new driving skills, and I walked away learning the lesson that we all need to pay more attention to what we do and don’t do behind the wheel, how we treat others along the road, and what it means to trust."