Missed and Effects

It’s been very hard to get back into the habit of writing on this blog since taking a break to deal with daughter issues. However I so miss writing it that I have to do something, so in an attempt to kick start the blog again I’m going to focus on some quick smaller entry items so as to build up my personal momentum. I have no idea what I just said but here we go..


In life we all make choices. In life we all regret some of them and then there are a few we don’t regret.

Riding with drunken friends, August 1982, they all got tickets and were lucky to survive an accident with a tricky phone pole that must have jumped out in front of them. I do not miss having passed on that trip. I spent that summer diving into the family pool and not changing bandages on my broken nose. BONUS!

Going on trip to Florida for work in the late 1990’s when the entire company not only experienced higher temperatures and humidity then they had ever heard of. They began to ponder what was the evolutionary advantage of sweat glands between your ass cheeks, oh sure you could run fast but did it keep you cool? Just when they thought it could not get worse they got to enjoy an amazing hurricane. I do not regret having passed on that.

While living in Australia a group of people mentioned that they wanted to go on a trip to the outback to see some rock or desert or something. I passed on the offer and when they got home with a nightmare story of breakdowns and problems that had caused one divorce and a pacifist Buddhist to get into a fist fight with a mechanic who wanted to charge them some outrageous for a radiator belt well lets say I was not unhappy I passed on that one.


Then there was last night.

You know I love driving at nights. The traffic is easy, the people are fewer and it’s cooler then mid day summer runs. However it was my Monday and I had a choice of rolling early or rolling late. A helpful station agent pointed out something that I had forgot. If I drover at night I would be riding during the starlight parade the first parade of Portland’s Rose Festival.

An Alarm went off in my head like that time the Woman with big ankles and hands started hitting on four of us at a bar. We all passed except for Gary Pressman who had a mister winky sighting later that night only it wasn’t his own. “I’ll do that morning run” I said cheerfully.

So Saturday morning I found myself driving a route 4 bus so early the druggies and thugs were all asleep. Made for a great day of driving. Even if the bus ride back to the garage was like Africa hot I didn’t mind.

When I got home I was a bit upset because it had only been an eight hours day. I usually drive for more hours and it seemed strange to be home after work in the day light. I was just wishing I had taken the night run for ten hours when I started to get Text messages from frustrated bus drivers. Messages like

“Still stopped’
and
“20 Minutes down”
and
“I wish my bus had spikes”

For hours, even after the parade had ended, I received text after text from drivers on their break telling me in limited characters just how bad it had been on the new mall with the parade.

To all my fellow drivers who have to drive through nightmares like parades I say “Good on ya for not going crazy” jay walkers, bikes without lights people ignoring street signs and busses full of people and yet no one threw a brain rod.

One more Trip to go add to my list of trips I’m glad I did not make. Like the time I had to drive all the way down to Portland to get married ….wait… oh shit I did that one.