Cheap Thrills

On my bus ride home today, the driver reminded us that we had a reason to celebrate the day. I wasn't sure where he was going with this...the fact that the shopping crowds (and traffic) will disappear in less than 4 days?...the fact that we were riding in one of the new sporty Metro buses?...until he mentioned that today is Winter Solstice. So, as I sat on a really late bus in a town that had been really dark for hours already, I smiled. The solstice presents us with the shortest day and longest night of the year. From here, it's smooth sailing to spring.

The solstice also prompts me to listen to the Dar Williams song, The Christians and the Pagans. I think I like the song so much because it rings fairly true in my family. We have the whole range... from active Christian missionaries to converted Episcopalians living among Mormons to astronomical chart readers. And I don't even have that big of a family. While I don't really consider myself a Pagan, I am much closer to being a Pagan than a Christian. The song is intended to remind us that no matter our beliefs, we can all enjoy the holidays together. I can't really say this holds true for the current state of my family however, after the smackdown at the annual family Christmas party earlier this month. But today, as I listened to the song, it gave me hope that someday maybe our family will be back to "normal" (if there is such a thing as normal when talking family).

Back to bus rides...yesterday I had the bus ride from hell. I took the 18 to Ballard to have dinner at Oaxaca. Oaxaca is worth a bus ride from hell but this ride was so bad that I didn't even remember where I was going anymore.

It started off when I got on at the Art Museum and it was standing room only. Not a good sign for one of the first stops downtown. Among the hoard of us, there was a mom with her two kids (a boy and a girl) and their grandma who boarded the bus with me. The boy was out of control. Seriously. Between hitting his mom, jumping all over the place and violating the space of the poor man sitting next to the aisle, he was able to maintain an astonishing loud volume coming from his mouth. By about 20 minutes in to the ride, the boy had been sentenced to a time-out when they got home. This kid needed way more than a time out.

30 minutes in to the ride, a young girl boarded the bus with her dad. We were now in lower Queen Anne and should have arrived in Ballard 5 minutes ago. While the dad stayed up front with his monstrous gift-like thing wrapped in a big black trash bag, he told his daughter to sit down when a seat became empty, which happened to be across from the out of control boy who was now sitting on his mom's lap and sharing a seat with his sister. This new girl was not too different from any other kid in this world in the sense that she stared at this scene, simply because it involved people her own age. She was different from these kids though because she was very well behaved. And she was even sitting next to a stranger. As time went one, I'm pretty sure she noticed that this boy was indeed out of control.

40 minutes in to the ride, mom declares that boy will be going to his room immediately upon their arrival at home. The little girl finally piped up. She asked but "what about supper?". Mom replied that she would be bringing up dinner to his room and he would eat alone. As the ride was approaching 45 minutes, I could see my stop. All I had on my mind was a margarita and reality TV. It was right before I got off, when the little girl made this ride worth the hell. She turned to the mom and boy and said, "You need Nanny 911". I love kids. They actually say what us adults are thinking.

So...between the late rides, the long rides and the bad rides, I have to thank public transportation. A buck fifty for 45 minutes of astonishment, disgust and humor. Thanks for the cheap thrills Metro! And thank you little girl.