Down McLaren, right on First. Argh, I know this friggin’ bus route off by heart. Haunt a bus, they said; it’ll be fun, they said. Sure, it’s fun for late-night-thrills but the monotony is going to make me lose it.… Continue Reading
See those crowds by the clock tower? Waiting for the mechanical figures to come out and dance? The clock to chime? Dumb clucks. They all look up. But hey! Don’t look at them. Look for the faces that don’t look… Continue Reading
“Kanagawa. Next stop, Kanagawa Station.” It’s the same every morning at 9:42am. I glance up at the announcement, waiting for the subway doors to slide open with a whoosh. A handful of people get off, but only the foxes get… Continue Reading
There are three strangers with me in the sheltered bus stop. The winter storm keeps us behind the protective glass but the wicked wind relentlessly abrades it, trying to steal what little heat we have in the small space. The… Continue Reading
Tonight, it’s dogs. A pack of feral dogs, silently following me through dark, unfamiliar streets. I move away, slowly but steadily, trying not to show fear. At least at first. The dogs don’t let me leave them behind, but they… Continue Reading
The man at the controls thought about the people he was transporting. In airline parlance they’d be called “souls.” But the BART system had no such term. They were just people: skin-bags full of spaghetti, flank steak and fish brains.… Continue Reading
Ever since his wife died, riding the bus became Oscar’s outing for the day. He once enjoyed walking, but his hips made a simple stroll to the corner a painful experience. Hip replacement surgery was discussed by his doctor, but… Continue Reading
He entered the metro and slumped into a molded seat across from my wheelchair. I assumed he was homeless. He looked bad and smelled worse. It was the sort of funk that creeps up on a person — the kind… Continue Reading