Bus Report #724
Christmas Eve morning and the rain has finally stopped.
Thank goodness, as my coat is still damp and I can't stop thinking about the leaky skylight at work - hopefully the roof hasn't fallen in.
With the buses on a Saturday schedule the 38 Geary is crowded - a handful of us headed for work, but most people have suitcases and frame packs and look as though they are headed out of town for the holidays.
A young man in muddy jeans and flannel pulls the signal cord, and then tugs it another couple of times, almost knocking a girl and her boyfriend in the head as he does so. The girl and her boyfriend exchange looks, shrug. The man pushes through the door at Divisadero.
One of the Russian ladies is reading a novel, in Russian, with the English title in large cap letters on the spine - A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR.
Fillmore street is cold and still dark, and I wait in the bus stop with two semi-regulars - homeless or marginally housed guys who tend to pace the bus stop and twitch and sometimes make me nervous.
This morning, though, one of them stands at the far end of the stop rolling and re-rolling his sleeping bag and the other man hunkers down on a bench to smoke.
Once done with his cigarette he tosses the butt away and stands up.
He takes a toothbrush from his pocket and a moment later I can smell minty toothpaste as he vigorously brushes his teeth, spitting the foam onto the sidewalk just a foot or so away from me. And it is a quiet enough morning that I can hear the bristles swish against his teeth.
The bus comes, we get on, and we slowly, slowly move up Fillmore. Most stops are empty. One of the vet techs from the SPCA gets on, and then an old man in a 49ers jacket, and then a mom and her two beaming little girls.
When I get out it is still dark but the sun is peeking out from behind pink-grey clouds. The cafe is quiet, just a few cops and some regulars, no sign of the friendly cabbie or the maintenance guys who always say hello.
16th Street is silent, it is so unusual but I like it.
All the shops near my office are closed, though a couple of trucks are dropping off bread and uniforms at one of the restaurants. I wave to the delivery guys and walk up the hill, stepping on brilliant red and orange leaves as I make my way to the office.
A woman with green curly hair stands out front the building, making a phone call.
Fog City Notes wishes you a great Christmas if you celebrate, a fantastic New Year, and enjoy today's sun... Oh how I've missed it.
Thank goodness, as my coat is still damp and I can't stop thinking about the leaky skylight at work - hopefully the roof hasn't fallen in.
With the buses on a Saturday schedule the 38 Geary is crowded - a handful of us headed for work, but most people have suitcases and frame packs and look as though they are headed out of town for the holidays.
A young man in muddy jeans and flannel pulls the signal cord, and then tugs it another couple of times, almost knocking a girl and her boyfriend in the head as he does so. The girl and her boyfriend exchange looks, shrug. The man pushes through the door at Divisadero.
One of the Russian ladies is reading a novel, in Russian, with the English title in large cap letters on the spine - A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR.
Fillmore street is cold and still dark, and I wait in the bus stop with two semi-regulars - homeless or marginally housed guys who tend to pace the bus stop and twitch and sometimes make me nervous.
This morning, though, one of them stands at the far end of the stop rolling and re-rolling his sleeping bag and the other man hunkers down on a bench to smoke.
Once done with his cigarette he tosses the butt away and stands up.
He takes a toothbrush from his pocket and a moment later I can smell minty toothpaste as he vigorously brushes his teeth, spitting the foam onto the sidewalk just a foot or so away from me. And it is a quiet enough morning that I can hear the bristles swish against his teeth.
The bus comes, we get on, and we slowly, slowly move up Fillmore. Most stops are empty. One of the vet techs from the SPCA gets on, and then an old man in a 49ers jacket, and then a mom and her two beaming little girls.
When I get out it is still dark but the sun is peeking out from behind pink-grey clouds. The cafe is quiet, just a few cops and some regulars, no sign of the friendly cabbie or the maintenance guys who always say hello.
16th Street is silent, it is so unusual but I like it.
All the shops near my office are closed, though a couple of trucks are dropping off bread and uniforms at one of the restaurants. I wave to the delivery guys and walk up the hill, stepping on brilliant red and orange leaves as I make my way to the office.
A woman with green curly hair stands out front the building, making a phone call.
Fog City Notes wishes you a great Christmas if you celebrate, a fantastic New Year, and enjoy today's sun... Oh how I've missed it.
posted by Rachel at 8:26 AM
2 Comments:
And the same to you Rachel, and best wishes for the the New Year!
Thanks, John, you too! See you in 2013...
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