Drab days (now with transcendence)
I saw a guy run for a bus today. Never run for the things, as the 2000 Year Old Man says. Saunter. Don't run, saunter, jaunty jolly. There'll be another bus along in a while. But this guy sprinted for the 124, and as it pulled away he hammered on the back window until it was out of his reach. Then he flipped out. Swore, loudly, threw the paper he was holding on the ground, kicked it, swore, kicked at the paper again. Then doubled back and climbed on the D line bus that was right behind the 124, and rode away, to try and catch it at the next stop.
Anger is boiling up out of people. Could be the season, or the politics, or the cold weather. Last night's bus home was crowded. A wheelchair, a walker, and a couple of gals with rolling luggage blocking up the front. Standing room only to the back. Getting in and out was a problem. The bus stopped to pick up a group of people, and a guy (who hadn't rung for the stop) got out of his seat, and he had paint cans. People were getting on and he was trying to get off. "Hold up! Don't get on, I'm trying to get off," he said. The guy in the wheelchair said "You should have stood up near the front if you wanted to get out." Paint Can said "Shut your f** mouth before I shut it for you!" Wheelchair said "You ain't gonna shut sh**, b***!" But people were already shoving Paint Can out the door, where he raved and fumed on the sidewalk as the bus pulled away.
Anyway, I got home and we had a small dinner, then went back out into the chilly air to go to an event Noel had read about, a meet-up at Casa Latina based around luminarias, the lanterns made of decorated bags. We got in, and there was a band playing Argentinian tangos, and the place was crowded. There was a table where people could sit and decorate bags, but it was full of kids already, and there was no place to sit, and anyway the room was full of comfortable looking gueros glad-handing and drinking copious amounts of wine. A donor event, and we were out of place. I snagged a fresa cookie, and we took our leave.
So we walked up to the stop to get home, which was in front of a restaurant that advertised African / Cajun cuisine. We went in to get Noel a bottled water, and while we waited for the woman to get them from the back Noel saw that they had hibiscus drink on the menu. Always on the lookout for good hibiscus drink. We get jamaica, the Mexican hibiscus stuff, at the Farmers Market whenever we go, and when we were in Bakersfield we got some hibiscus flowers from a bodega which I am going to attempt to turn into jamaica at home this weekend. So Noel got some of the hibiscus from this place, and it was a revelation -- they'd steeped the stuff with cloves and cinnamon, just a touch, and it was both jamaica-y and Christmas-y. We were waiting for the bus, me eating my fresa cookie and sharing the hibiscus with Noel, and we felt like we lived in a big and fun world.
EDIT: Then I go to read about jamaica on Wikipedia, and it has this to say: "It is served chilled, and in Jamaica this drink is a tradition on Christmas, served with fruit cake or potato pudding."
Well! Merry Christmas!
Anger is boiling up out of people. Could be the season, or the politics, or the cold weather. Last night's bus home was crowded. A wheelchair, a walker, and a couple of gals with rolling luggage blocking up the front. Standing room only to the back. Getting in and out was a problem. The bus stopped to pick up a group of people, and a guy (who hadn't rung for the stop) got out of his seat, and he had paint cans. People were getting on and he was trying to get off. "Hold up! Don't get on, I'm trying to get off," he said. The guy in the wheelchair said "You should have stood up near the front if you wanted to get out." Paint Can said "Shut your f** mouth before I shut it for you!" Wheelchair said "You ain't gonna shut sh**, b***!" But people were already shoving Paint Can out the door, where he raved and fumed on the sidewalk as the bus pulled away.
Anyway, I got home and we had a small dinner, then went back out into the chilly air to go to an event Noel had read about, a meet-up at Casa Latina based around luminarias, the lanterns made of decorated bags. We got in, and there was a band playing Argentinian tangos, and the place was crowded. There was a table where people could sit and decorate bags, but it was full of kids already, and there was no place to sit, and anyway the room was full of comfortable looking gueros glad-handing and drinking copious amounts of wine. A donor event, and we were out of place. I snagged a fresa cookie, and we took our leave.
So we walked up to the stop to get home, which was in front of a restaurant that advertised African / Cajun cuisine. We went in to get Noel a bottled water, and while we waited for the woman to get them from the back Noel saw that they had hibiscus drink on the menu. Always on the lookout for good hibiscus drink. We get jamaica, the Mexican hibiscus stuff, at the Farmers Market whenever we go, and when we were in Bakersfield we got some hibiscus flowers from a bodega which I am going to attempt to turn into jamaica at home this weekend. So Noel got some of the hibiscus from this place, and it was a revelation -- they'd steeped the stuff with cloves and cinnamon, just a touch, and it was both jamaica-y and Christmas-y. We were waiting for the bus, me eating my fresa cookie and sharing the hibiscus with Noel, and we felt like we lived in a big and fun world.
EDIT: Then I go to read about jamaica on Wikipedia, and it has this to say: "It is served chilled, and in Jamaica this drink is a tradition on Christmas, served with fruit cake or potato pudding."
Well! Merry Christmas!