Is it 2 L8 to LOL at demotion?
For the multitudes among you that e-mail or text-message ‘til you drop, you know the hip lingo (LOL: laughing out loud; L8R: later) and lowercase format. I usually think of it as something that only way-cool teens or twentysomethings do, but it got me wondering how Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona and Lt. Bill Hunt’s messages might have read over the months after Hunt decided to run for Carona’s job.
Carona won and at year’s end demoted and then reassigned Hunt from police chief in San Clemente to patrol duty in Stanton. Hunt then resigned.
If only they’d kept a record of their texting ...
dear mike, been thinking of u, especially since i have decided to run for sheriff. hope that’s cool with u. btw, lovin’ it here in sunny sc ...
lol, the b-man
dear b-man, no prob. i can roll with it ...
l8r, c-dog
c-dog, wanted to give u the 411 that i plan to say u r running corrupt administration. nhf, ok ...?
gotta tell u, b-man,, that bums me ... l8r
c-dog, thot it mite ... hope we can still be friends
b-man, dmml
c-dog, i’m not trying to b funny, but i can’t match ur $$$ ...
b-man, that’s the whole point: w/out $$$, u r doa ...
c-dog, maybe so, but i still plan to run tough, clean campaign ...
b-man, saw ur last msg and nbag ...
ELECTION NIGHT ...
c-dog, looks like u win ... congratulations ...
b-man, same 2 u ... got some ideas for your future ...
c-dog, wud be content to continue here in sunny sc ...
b-man, ibyd ... gssp ...
MONTHS LATER ...
b-man, wonderin’ how u feel, titw ... lol ...
c-dog, not 2 good ... can u give me my job back?
b-man, tago ...
c-dog, pls, need to make some plans ... need some 411...
b-man, ur 411 will involve some 405...as in driving it every day
c-dog, what r u saying?
b-man, only that u would look good in a street cop’s uni checking out home burglaries in stanton ...
c-dog, dgt ...
b-man, that’s what u’ll be saying (lol)!
c-dog, u can’t do that!
b-man, wm ...
c-dog, u r better than this ... hap?
b-man, nd ... it’s called loyalty, my man ...
c-dog, ymms ...
b-man, tfm, but don’t take it so hard ... my inner circle thinks you’ll do a great job over there ...
c-dog, this sounds like something mike schroeder would think of
b-man, ybp ... nope, this is one i dreamed up all by myself ...
c-dog, u said months ago u cud roll with this ... i trusted u!
b-man, was ...!
c-dog, u’ll pay for this ...!
b-man, exactly how ...?
c-dog, the public will bury u ...
b-man, ltec ...
Key:
411: information;
DGT: don’t go there;
DMML: don’t make me laugh;
GSSP: got some surprises planned;
HAP: how about Placentia;
IBYD: I bet you do;
LTEC: let them eat cake;
NBAG: nearly busted a gut;
ND: no dice;
NHF: no hard feelings;
TAGO: that’s a good one;
TFM: the feeling’s mutual;
TITW: twisting in the wind;
WAS: what a sap;
WM: watch me;
YBP: you’re being paranoid;
YMMS: you make me sick.
Dana Parsons’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He can be reached at (714) 966-7821 or at dana.parsons@latimes.com. An archive of his recent columns is at www.latimes.com/parsons.