Month: August 2017

Adventures in Public Transportation: Googlie Eyes – by Ken Bolding A couple passes the bus stand outside the Paseo Colorado on an after dinner stroll. She is in a little dress and stilettos. He is in slacks and a bright, blue, slightly clubby button down. Date clothes. This is an early date but maybe not their first. She is slightly tipsy and stumbles a little, clinging to him as they walk. “I Googled you,” she says in a slightly mischievous tone. He stops cold. She takes an extra step and turns to face him. “And what did you find?” She slides her hands up his chest and caresses the back of his neck. “A church thing,” she says staring up into his eyes, smiling. He breathes again. “See, I told you,” he says as they resume their walk, their arms entwined. Their hands slide down of their own accord, and their fingers interlock. They walk another 10 yards and stop again. They face each other and slip into a long passionate kiss right there on the sidewalk. There’s no way to tell who has initiated it. But neither seem to want to be the first to break away. My bus comes, and I clear out. For all I know, they’re still there. I like to think...

ADVENTURES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Waiting for a Bus at the End of the World – by Ken Bolding Prologue:  A significant number of people became convinced that the world would end on December 21, 2012. 2012 Phenomenon ABC News: Will the World End in 2012 Dec 18, 2012 1:45 AM I got to Lake Ave Station just before midnight. Four minutes after the second to last bus went up the hill and a half hour before the last shuttle would arrive. A worried looking woman asked me if I knew when the bus was due. I told her, and then she asked if I knew any rich people? She explained that she had panhandled in Pasadena before and made a dollar or two, but sometimes rich people will give you a $20; so she wanted to know if I knew any. I told her I didn’t A group of 4 or 5 drunk kids approach. They are scream-singing something at the tops of their lungs. As they get close I can tell what it is. The one that seems like the leader stops in front of me and scream-sings at me, “It’s the end of the world as we know it! It’s the end of the world as we know it! It’s the end of the world as we know it!” I sing back, “And I feel fiiiiiiinnne!” Drunk-leader...

ADVENTURES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Getting Off Track – by Ken BoldingOn my way to lunch, I saw a car drive over the median to escape an oncoming train. The driver had somehow turned onto the train right of way and was driving north down the tracks about to enter 23rd St Station. I don’t know whether it was seeing the station or the blaring train klaxon that snapped him out of his trance and kickstarted his sense if...