Transit Tidbits

Monday September 11, 2017 – more funny stuff observed or overheard on the bus!

Oct 13. I have been traveling in to town on freeway with hubby for many days but today, I am back on bus. Chinese lady that used to sit by me did so again. Then guy in front of me got off and who should come but another Chinese lady to sit in front of us. She took off her coat and is relaxing on the seat, mindless of crowded bus. She is now telling other one some amazing story, they are both laughing and intensely talking. I think she’s on to her 2nd or 3rd story now. I am in a tiny Chinese bubble.

Oct 14 Today on bus again, listening to a lot of a drum band via the generous young lady next to me who’s got her ear buds plugged into her phone . Later in post: I actually do too (hate it) and I want to “be a mom” and tell her she should get her hearing checked as she might have a hearing loss!

November 9, 2016 I’ve been reading mysteries by Louise Penny, all based in Canada, and one of the towns in her stories is Cowansville. Cowan is a family name so I was googling it to see what if any places are named Cowan. I found Cowan Lake State Park in Ohio!

November 9, 2016 Yesterday there was a young Asian woman on bus who’d dyed her hair the color that I, in high school, wanted desperately to change! I thought it to be a mousy color, and now someone has chosen that color lol

November 10, 2016 Just saw a fog bank covering the river with the yellow sunrise and mountains above! I hope same photographers get shots of it and share.

November 16, 2016 – Last seat available on the bus has a large wet spot. Hmmmm, is is water? Or something else? Maybe I’ll stand. Later post in same thread: But I got glares from other patrons on the bus because I wouldn’t sit down on that seat. Later, I’d gotten another place further back and noticed a lady sat down in the wet seat and jumped right back up.

Nov 22 Someone just came in the main door eating french fries. I love french fries! Good thing I already ate my lunch, or I’d be tempted to go beg. Plus, don’t need the calories

November 22 had to give up reading on the bus tonight because the woman driver has a jerky touch with the breaks. I feel queasy now …

Feb 7 I was on the Tram at OHSU earlier. Suddenly I heard a female voice, “Jacob and Hannah?! Where are you?!” I have a niece and nephew with those same names. What a coinqedink! As my mother would have said.

Here’s a snippet from August 2016 of what’s happening in the world of bus riding!

August 1, 2016 – Going late on #9 bus this morn (due to appt earlier) and what I have been missing out on! Three people are searching for fare, one gal has a dog on a leash, and 2 inebriated young men are chatting up the women near the front and currently discussing women’s undergarments, of all things. Ye gads!

August 1, 2016 a few minutes later: I spoke too soon! 2 young parents, 4 very young boys, Mom tossing kid into seat, kid starts screaming his lungs out, bus driver says ‘please calm child down’. Parents choose to argue with driver, rather than comfort child. I started praying for everyone!

August 11, 2016 – Trimet travels: Overheard as I got on the bus this morning,”When I got home, she was wearing her underwear, a pair of socks and a pair of shoes! She wanted to go outside.” And I am not even trying to overhear… just minding my own business. Otherwise, recent rides have been uneventful. Just the usual mix of moms, dads, tattooed, pierced, bold hair colored individuals and the old and young.

August 15 2016 – Surrounded by 3 women speaking Chinese! Look out the window … yes, I’m still in USA. They are probably all talking about their weekend, the weather, etc

In this section, I will address seats on the bus.

1. There are different seat types on every bus! Some are fuzzy cloth covered, others are smooth plastic. These seat types are significant in how great your ride will be. Smooth plastic seats and stomp-on-break-to-stop drivers are the worst combination for comfortable ridership, as smooth seats cause you to slide around, whether you like it or not. The only way to combat the slide, is to grip your feet to the floor with each start and stop, and/or grip a pole or seat back bar with your hand or arm. Think passive exercise! All that grabbing and bracing can be quite exhausting, so pace yourself! Most drivers I’ve had are stomp-on-the-break type drivers and that means I’m sliding forward a lot, or gripping my feet to the floor to keep from moving a lot.

2. Cloth covered seats are more germ filled, but they are softer to the derriere. Best scenario is to not touch them. And us health conscience types don’t want to touch any part of the bus anyway, because of germs passing from person to person via the poles, back of seats, the cloth covers, the doors, and the like. Oh my, so many germs to think about! The situation is not as dire as I am portraying it. A person can just as easily get ill sitting all day in the same room with a sick person at work or home, than from the bus germs. However, it’s a good idea to wash your hands when you get home, or use a hand cleaner while en route, nonetheless.

3. Where to sit is also important, whether you have the choice of a window seat or the aisle seat. I prefer the window seat, if I can get it. It affords more options, be they watching out the window at scenery and not being knocked by passing patrons looking for a seat. You can do more thinking or pondering while looking out the window and more easily imagine you are not in a bus at all! A downside of the window seat is feeling trapped. If claustrophobia is an issue for you, sitting in a bench seat paralleling the length of the bus can be more comfortable. In the winter, when everyone is wearing bulky coats, a negative of being on the aisle is being knocked on the arm or hand by other patrons on their way to a seat, either by their body or their baggage. It’s an accidental incident, I presume, but when sitting on the aisle, it can feel as if there’s a target on your arm that says, “Hit me”. Usually, when others are entering the bus, I lean in toward my anonymous bus buddy so I won’t get knocked into. Then, once everyone is seated, I move back to an upright position.

4. Speaking of the bench seats in the front of the bus and the back, the ones in the front are reserved for the elderly, those in wheelchairs or with walkers, or people with strollers and kids. I try to avoid the front seats, unless there’s no other seat available. If I do end up at the front bench, I invariably watch to see who is boarding and assess if they fit in one of the aforementioned categories. If so, I will hop up and move to the rear, giving the new rider a place to land. There’s bench seats at the back of the bus, too, if you prefer them. In the back, people are more inclined to give their backpack it’s own seat, so you may need to be assertive to get your own seat.

I think I’ve exhausted the seat topic, and now feel like sitting down. Stay tuned for Part 3 next week!

Here’s another Monday edition of old favorites from riding on the bus. Hope you enjoy!

July 19, 2016 – Bus adventures – yesterday mom with little boy playing game for 60 blocks “I spy a red car!”, then the two young women in their burka chattering away, and today the guy, who I thought was on the phone having a quiet argument with someone but I think he’s just talking to himself ’cause I don’t see a phone.

July 20, 2016 – The French lady got on and is talking on her phone. It’s a beautiful language to listen to. In other news, a guy who’s facial expression reminds me of Tim Conway is wearing a dark gray wig but didn’t manage to get all his white hairs hidden. He’s too tall to be Tim, or I’d be looking for some comic relief.

July 29, 2016 – Morning: On the bus at 6:30am, a woman is eating corn on the cob in next seat up. I never considered it to be a breakfast food or must be some good corn!

July 29, 2016 – Evening: Times have changed! Last couple days on bus going home, younger women have hopped up and given me their seats. Feeling blessed

First off, if you don’t ride the bus, thank your lucky stars. It’s not a terrible way to get around, but does have it’s challenges.

Here are a few tips I can offer you for the next time you ride.

1. Be aware of smelly people. Some are worse than others. Any smell that reminds you of a skunk is a marijuana smoking individual. Now you know what they do in their spare time. TMI for sure!

2. A significant choice upon entering the bus is whether to sit or stand. I always try to find a seat if I can, even in the back of the bus, as it’s more comfortable for longer rides. As you walk down the center aisle searching for a seat, there are often people crowding by the back door. They may be planning to exit the bus soon and don’t want to take a seat for just a few blocks, or they just don’t want to sit. Either case, they are blocking the access to the back of the bus where there are often 2 or 3 seats waiting to be had. Politeness helps one get past those ne’er do wells to the valuable seats. Many people do not want to ride in the back of the bus, but there are often as decent folks in the back as farther forward, so don’t be afraid to venture back.

3. One feature of bus riding you can’t control is how the bus driver chooses to drive. This is a factor most affecting your ride. Many drivers will give you time to get situated either in a seat or gripping a seat pole before they move out into traffic. Other drivers make an art out of how smooth they can pull away from the curb or come to a stop. Their buses are a delight to ride but unfortunately, they are the exception. Other drivers give you the impression they are always behind their schedule and are working to catch up with jerky movements as they stop, start and take the corners. That’s the ride where you can get nauseous from all the jerking around. And, forget reading a book or Kindle under those circumstances.

4. Stay tuned for Part 2 of How to survive a bus ride!

I’ve been away from blogging for a couple of years. Years? Wow, time goes by so fast; I’d not realized my negligence. I hope you’ll give me another chance to brighten your day!
I have a new focus on humor, reflections on life and will share some musings on God’s love from time to time.
One of the new features I will be introducing is Transit Tidbits. It’s a slice of life outside my normal culture. Some of you know me from Facebook, where in my travels to and from work I observe or overhear other bus passengers living their lives, and some of it is funny. I try to keep the posts amusing and steer clear of snarky or mean comments. I’m not here to make fun of others, but instead appreciate the variety of humanity in my corner of the world. Hope you enjoy, too. Stay tuned for the first installment!

I have an office of my very own, where I can write, dream, draw, paint and create. It is a nice shaped room filled with a desk, printer, file cabinet and row upon row of books. There’s a big window overlooking the lower acreage, filled with tall alders and firs, seeding thistle and a sloping meadow. It’s my retreat place and I love having the space.

There’s just one problem. I’ve filled it with too much. Too many books, interesting articles, notebooks and boxes of research materials, boxes filled with items that should be returned, and more. I had way too much “more”.

Recently, I walked through the door with a story idea and was headed to my computer to write it down. But, when I got to the desk and sat, I was overwhelmed with the sense that I could not write there. What was going on? I’d just been filled with enthusiasm and suddenly I was in the depths of despair and inability.

I was in the presence of too much. It was the tyranny of stuff.

Just being in that space caused my brain and creative juices to shut down. Suddenly I discovered the reason for my recent malaise. No wonder I have felt unable to write lately!

Serendipitously, I had part of the solution within arms’ reach.

My son and daughter-in-law recently downsized. I had acquired a lateral file cabinet from their excess. I had been drooling over cabinets in the last year, but hadn’t made the leap to purchasing one as they seemed out of my price range. And, here was one from my son that fit perfectly in my office space, matching the pocketbook as well!

Next step was to purchase some hanging files and labels and away we go, organizing and sorting that excess. I’m on the way to success! But I sensed that was just part of the solution.

I had not too long ago obtained 12 boxes large and small, of historical records related to my parents and grandparents, helpful for writing that memoir that’s been rattling around in my brain these last few years. My sister had kept them all stored in a closet. Now that I had them, I wanted to keep the material close at hand as I delved into each one to discover the treasures they held. It has been fascinating to read about my ancestors. In some ways, their lives seemed ho hum, but compared to our fast paced modern life, so much has changed. It has been an eye opener to think about life fifty to one hundred years ago. That valuable information has helped flesh out the letters from Dad and moved me closer to figuring out the focus of the memoir. But I digress. Back to my original question, where could 12 boxes fit? You guessed it. Here in my office.

Unfortunately, those twelve boxes have put a serious cramp on the available space. So, I prayed about what to do. I was trusting God would have some thoughts He could breathe into my consciousness with guidance for this journey. Yeah, I could probably think up some ideas without praying about it. But, I’ve found God has been far more accepting and loving toward me than I have been of myself and His vision carried me farther toward my goals than my thoughts alone. So an idea came to mind about the amount of books in my office. Could I change how I store them at least for a period of time? It was an idea worth considering.

When I first created this space, I had moved all my favorite books here. And then as time went on, I added books I’d like to read, then books about writing. Add to the stack books from the library related to research. It added up to a lot of books.

The next idea was to remove all books from the room that were not writing related, and then see what was left. Was there room to put any back? Or, did I need to store some elsewhere? Either way was fine if it helped me with the excess and met the goal, giving me a calm less cluttered space in which to write. I have been still in process with the idea. But, I am hopeful this dragon can be slayed!

It has been hard to let go of the old and let in the new.

Besides God’s loving, accepting care, I have found the most help in solving problems to be focusing on my goals.

My current goals included writing a memoir, keeping track of bills to pay for the household and storing tax related documents. I also liked to keep for future reference any interesting article or story that I had come across. My interests included hiking, painting, cooking, family and how-to projects. I also liked to collect story ideas and had recently been inspired, a.k.a. prodded, to start submitting stories and articles to publishing houses that need them.

Being aware of my goals has helped me pair down the excess. I’ve come a long way from thinking I didn’t have much to contribute to this world to realizing God put me here for His reasons. I needed to respect what His purpose was for me and seek His ways. The experiences I have gone through have strengthened and changed me. I want to speak up and let my voice be heard.

How about you? Do you struggle with excess stuff, too? It is not too late to try. Each day has new opportunities for success.

I hope you will take the time to figure out what your goals are for this life and give yourself the opportunity to go for it!

The other day I had a hankering for an orange popsicle.

A lot of orange popsicles are paired with ice cream, like the classic Creamsicle. Unfortunately for me, I am sensitive to milk products, so can’t eat those. I’ve got to find an orange-only sicle.

At the store, I saw the Outshine brand of “ice bars” and there was one called Tangerine Carrot, FRUIT & VEGGIE BARS. At first, I was put off by the idea of vegetables in my popsicle. Not so sure that would be a winner. Vegetables and fruit in one cold treat? But, then, tangerine got top billing on the box, so it must be pretty good.

I’m always up for trying something new, at least once. I have been taking a class at work this Spring about being more healthy. This has expanded my understanding of calories, exercise and a healthy diet. This bar was only 60 calories, so I decided to give it a try. How bad could it be?

Well, if I was looking for tangerine to be the star of this popsicle, I was disappointed. T he initial thought was “this is downright bad! Why did they market this?”

Then I looked at the ingredient list. In order of appearance, there was apple puree, carrot juice, pear juice, sugar, tangerine juice, pumpkin puree, passionfruit juice and a few gums that are usually present in popsicles. That explains it. If I was looking for fruit and veggie health, then it was okay. But, if I was looking for tangerine, the flavor got hidden with everything else.

The pumpkin puree seemed a little over the top, but if I had been part of the testing crew, it might have been a good addition. If they were trying for a bar that gave a person fruit and vegetables in a bar, they hit their mark. My problem was I thought I was getting a tangerine tasting popsicle and I didn’t get that.

Since then I have changed my expectations about what these bars are, and they are actually pretty good! When I am done with the box, I might even buy more.

And as to trying to find a bar that has tangerine or orange in it, I haven’t been back to the store to look.

But I recently found a great recipe for orange sauce in one of Mark Bittman’s cookbooks called “Orange Cream Sundaes” that I can have over rice or soy ice cream and is said to be reminiscent of the Creamsicle.

I might just have to do a little cooking soon…

As a young teenager, I adored Sierra Club calendars. I soaked up the beauty in those detailed photographs which were comparable to the color photos in a National Geographic magazine. Recently I read a biography of John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club and found his story to be fascinating.

The Muir family farmed in Wisconsin in the late 1800’s. They lived in a time before public school was the norm in the United States. Though John and his siblings had gone to school back in Scotland, when they emigrated, his father, Daniel Muir, preferred everyone to not attend school, but rather work the farm.

John, though, began to have a great longing to study and learn more. Daniel was willing to allow John to study higher mathematics as long as he kept up with the farm work and John studied algebra, geometry and trigonometry. But John wanted still more.

Daniel required everyone to go to bed right after evening prayers, but John would stay by the stove to read a bit. Daniel objected to that, but after some discussion, did give permission for John to rise earlier and read in the mornings before breakfast. John decided this meant he could get up at 1:00am each morning, giving him five extra hours to read! What a creative solution to John’s desire to learn more of the world, when all his father wanted was a worker. A kind neighbor lent him books and so he began a greater education in literature, poetry, history and travel.

Another interesting fact I discovered was that John thrived in the wilderness. After he left home and began his travels, he often lived for months in wild places. He languished if he was unable to stay in wild areas for some part of every year.

His grandfather had encouraged him to love the natural world and learn the lessons nature taught. When John moved to California, he would travel for months in Yosemite where he built a small cabin right over a stream so that he could continuously hear the water rush past. He often traveled to Alaska and stayed there for long periods as well. He always would return feeling renewed from his time in the wilderness. He valued the wilderness as a place to go to for spiritual renewal and prayer, and to see its grandeur and beauty.

I don’t think I had such an appreciation before of John Muir, who overcame family hardships to become one of the most influential figures in California in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He wrote articles and books in support of cherishing our wilderness. He championed the cause for preservation of several beautiful wild areas including Yosemite, Mount Rainier, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest and Sequoia, and the creation of the National Park system.

Our country greatly benefited from John Muir leaving his father’s farm in search of the wilderness!

Here in the Northwest, many people go hiking, camping or backpacking to have that same experience of enjoying the beauty of the natural world. We owe a great debt to a simple man who saw the value in the wild places in the United States and helped preserve them for us.

If you are interested in reading more about his life, consider looking for the book John Muir Nature’s Visionary by Gretel Ehrlich published by National Geographic, 2000.