December 20, 2003

• Today I rode the bus down to the U district to pay a bill, eat lunch, pick up some groceries.

  I'm now a big fan of the 75 line. It passes within blocks of where I live, and directly connects me to either the U district or Ballard (or both, if I'm up for the trip). It is, as Martha Stewart says, a good thing. I doubt she's ever ridden the bus in her life, but I digress.

  I set out. I got to my stop and waited and waited. I can be horribly impatient sometimes. It seemed like hours, days that I waited. There was an offhand chance that I had missed the bus, since I was cutting the timing a little close, which made the impatience worse... Am I a fool for standing here expectantly when there won't be another bus for a half hour?

  I decided to walk to the next stop, and about half-way between, of course the bus came. I waved my arms, and the bus pulled over a little bit onto the shoulder of the road right in front of me. This was half way between stops, so I figured this was a signal he was going to wait for me at the next one. I started running, running fast.

  The next stop was at an intersection of the main arterial and a side street. As I approached it along the arterial, cars came from both sides and stopped, for their respective stop signs. I saw both drivers look to see me running, and to see the stopped bus. A car came up from behind me, signaling a turn in front of me. He stopped just before the intersection, seeing that I was trying to catch the bus and he would have blocked me. Everything was in alignment... The bus was stopped, someone was getting on, the door was still open... The cars had stopped to help me out... I was just across the intersection from my goal, running like someone who would have to stand around in the light Seattle rain and wait for half an hour if he didn't catch that bus....

  And of course the bus closed the door and pulled away just as I crossed the intersection.

  I looked around at all the cars, and the drivers were staring, dumbfounded. Mouths open. Like they had just witnessed a mugging. My co-conspirators, their desire to assist had been denied along with my desire to catch that mofo.

  Sometimes the world really is rooting for you, except for the one guy who, for some reason, maybe just plain spite, decides to screw with your head.

  • 12:16 am
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