passage...
a man almost evacuated his nose onto my pant leg this afternoon. exciting. about to board the bus. the man walking in front of me stopped and turned. fired one barrel and then the other. offending matter landed softly on the grass beside me. if only i'd been going at a faster clip. my that's a disappointed tone. i didn't mean it to be.
last week i sat in front of a group of young men. the totality of their conversation consisted of 1) how many babes they'd fucked 2) how many of those had been awake during the event/how many asleep and 3) how the latter unfolding was far more enjoyable. presumably for them. because i can tell you the retelling of date rape adventures weren't especially enjoyable for the several passengers within hearing. and the origins even less so for those who'd been sleeping. i'd imagine.
of course not every trip is like that. that nice german couple and their two wee ones. the elder with her red waldorf case. the younger making cute baby german noises. also the amish entourage on the clickety clacks. not what i thought i'd see in the amtrak vista car. the boisterous couple that told me they were going to test the acoustics of the train washroom. why did they share? i don't know. and the girl next to me who became my friend because of a song. and then other things train-ish. like oscar. our awkward spanglish conversations late at night on a park bench. about his wife and family in honduras. how someone here in town mistook him for a backdoor man. and i learned that new word in spanish. the guy in connecticut who said yale girls cage dancing should not be missed. the old man on the des moines to iowa city who fell asleep on my shoulder talking about rachel carson.
so. yes. there are good things about being surrounded by humanity. but it isn't all sunshine and lollipops. but then maybe i'm on the wrong continent, no?
well. the state of public transportation isn't weighing so heavily now. my car's final little tweaks come tomorrow. and then. and then! i paid $1200 for my car. to me that is a lot of money. to most people who observed the purchase i was clearly doing something foolish. only $1200? it can't be a good buy of course. be that as it may we work with what we have. nevermind that several years later and much of my little volvo is no longer what i began with. things break and are replaced. but she's such a brick. a cute brick. i was in an accident once in a volvo sedan. it was not nearly as frightening as being in a toyota etc.
and about accidents. we came upon one this afternoon. a young guy in a crosswalk. on a bicycle. he kept trying to stand. it wasn't working. and the old man who hit him shakily emerging from his truck to assist. and then four or so other people doing the same. it made my knees go goo. it made my stomach flip.
look at the time. sleep is what i need.
last week i sat in front of a group of young men. the totality of their conversation consisted of 1) how many babes they'd fucked 2) how many of those had been awake during the event/how many asleep and 3) how the latter unfolding was far more enjoyable. presumably for them. because i can tell you the retelling of date rape adventures weren't especially enjoyable for the several passengers within hearing. and the origins even less so for those who'd been sleeping. i'd imagine.
of course not every trip is like that. that nice german couple and their two wee ones. the elder with her red waldorf case. the younger making cute baby german noises. also the amish entourage on the clickety clacks. not what i thought i'd see in the amtrak vista car. the boisterous couple that told me they were going to test the acoustics of the train washroom. why did they share? i don't know. and the girl next to me who became my friend because of a song. and then other things train-ish. like oscar. our awkward spanglish conversations late at night on a park bench. about his wife and family in honduras. how someone here in town mistook him for a backdoor man. and i learned that new word in spanish. the guy in connecticut who said yale girls cage dancing should not be missed. the old man on the des moines to iowa city who fell asleep on my shoulder talking about rachel carson.
so. yes. there are good things about being surrounded by humanity. but it isn't all sunshine and lollipops. but then maybe i'm on the wrong continent, no?
well. the state of public transportation isn't weighing so heavily now. my car's final little tweaks come tomorrow. and then. and then! i paid $1200 for my car. to me that is a lot of money. to most people who observed the purchase i was clearly doing something foolish. only $1200? it can't be a good buy of course. be that as it may we work with what we have. nevermind that several years later and much of my little volvo is no longer what i began with. things break and are replaced. but she's such a brick. a cute brick. i was in an accident once in a volvo sedan. it was not nearly as frightening as being in a toyota etc.
and about accidents. we came upon one this afternoon. a young guy in a crosswalk. on a bicycle. he kept trying to stand. it wasn't working. and the old man who hit him shakily emerging from his truck to assist. and then four or so other people doing the same. it made my knees go goo. it made my stomach flip.
look at the time. sleep is what i need.
2 Comments:
rachel carson. i want to read more of what she's written. i used to assign an essay of hers to my english classes. what beautiful poetry about the natural world and more.
i also want to read more of her. i've only read little snips here and there and never any of her poetry. the old fella on the bus was insisting that i ed-uma-cate myself where she is concerned. so i must!
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