Costa Mesa resident Lori McDonald's odd taste in holiday decorations may be getting her into trouble with the city and her neighbors, but after she described them to us we had to get a look.
McDonald's huge 1971 Cadillac Hearse, painted “Plum Crazy” purple has raised the ire of some of her uppity neighbors and the parking ticket-mad Costa Mesa Police Department. According to McDonald, the parking police have been on her case because of an ordinance that says vehicles must be moved every 72 hours, except in permit neighborhoods. So every couple days she has to go out and move the car, but then returns it to the street parking spot in front of her house.
“It's part of my display,” she argues.
Behind the wheel of the hearse sits a Bill Clinton dummy. Sponge Bob and Shrek ride shotgun. Pretty sure there is a political statement here, though not entirely certain what it is. There's also a decapitated Governator in the back seat.
The final puzzle piece to this politically nebulous statement is an eight-foot tall motion activated statue of George Bush holding a skunk and peering over a front-yard fence. When the statue detects movement and comes to life, he sounds more like Tony Blair. Turns out the statue was actually a butler that was once placed out front a grocery store.
View Janine Kahn's slideshow and judge for yourself whether McDonald's whiny neighbors or the Costa Mesa ticket patrol is in the right. Would you want this stuff next door?
