God Bless the 7

So I'm on the 7 coming back from lunch and this guy next to me asks if he can use my cell phone. Now I never let anyone use my phone I don't know after one time I did and dudes parole officer called me for days afterwards. So I politely say no. Now two stops later a bunch of people get on the bus. Did I mention I'm sharing a seat with this guy? I'm on the aisle side. Now these people get on, and he seems to know all of them. I don't exactly understand why, because everything was jovial, but he pulled a blade on one of his friends. He then says, "hey man, can I use your phone, this guy (puts the knife right up in my face) won't let me use his." I slightly taken back before I say, "are you threatening to knife me on the bus?" To which he replies, "oh no, I'd never." I then promptly moved to a different seat on the bus. It's something to blog about if nothing else.

Technology makes such an ugly mother

I'm a little overwhelmed with Joyce. For the next meeting I'm going to start reading it more than a day before the meeting. I thought the meeting was Thursday for some reason. Probably because all the others were. I knew it wasn't on NYE but I didn't process that...

Spam Scout got a ton of hits the other day from a website called stumbleupon.com. I've been checking it out this afternoon. Pretty cool site. Just pick "art" and do some stumbling. I found this image that way...



I cleaned up my desk at work...

Tomorrow I'm going to spend my day at work ending "7". I know I've said that many times over now. I really don't want it to carry over into 2010 in any way other than trying to get it published somewhere. We'll see if I can actually find someone crazy enough to do such a thing...

I think that my opinion of Skeletal Lamping has officially come 180. It's great. This track is one of many reasons...

"She forgets about the fear"

"When she's high"...

Speaking of hats. I was on the 7 after work last night and there was a younger guy wearing a teal green trucker hat. In permanent marker the words "NO MONEY NO HONEY" were written on the front of it. I wanted to take a picture of him, but thought that might be a little strange. I also have long thought it a bad idea to photograph anyone on the 7, there's no way to gauge how violent the response might be...

I have to stop this for a moment, even though I just started. Time for lunch with pops...

Got back from lunch and stared a crossword. I've never done one with so many zzzzzz's. I'd also like to point out that I haven't got the friendly little "SOLVED" message from the NYTimes puzzle in a while. I know that I solved it right, it just doesn't recognize it. It's a little disappointing...

It's a marvelous 54 degrees here in Seattle today. This is exactly how it should be all winter. Cool and rainy. Not a lot of rain. Just that nice drizzle....

It never stops

Some times I feel like it's impossible for me to finish anything. I had the "wrap up" meeting with NESF last night about the 7 project. It's not over. I really shouldn't complain because the changes we talked about are going to take it from good to great. I'd just really like to get to a point with at least one project where I'm done. That's why I think that I'm going to break up the Metro project more than I originally intended. While it's going to be a novel in the end I'm just going to take it one story at a time and hopefully the sense of completion will encourage me to continue, instead of dragging on and then me getting discouraged. We'll see what happens.

However like I was saying after this revision it's going to be done. So then comes the step of trying to get it published. If any of you can think of a journal or review that you think it would work well it hit me up in the comments. Right now it was recommend that I start with Zyzzyva so I can get my first rejection out of the way quickly. Any other input would be greatly appreciated.

Finally a lil old skool pic...

Lost and Found

There was a couple of noteworthy interactions that I had this weekend...

I left work on Friday and it was pouring rain. It was wretched. I went out to wait for the 7. Every part of me was soaking wet. I could feel the water pooling in the crevasses of my hoodie, the tops of my boots, and the inner workings of my ears. It had been a long time since I'd been that wet. After 30 minutes of waiting in God's vengeance the 7 finally arrived.

As I boarded the bus I could tell I wasn't the only one left in the rain. The heat was blaring and the humidity was nearly unbearable. Everyone on the bus looked just as miserable as I did. As I was lamenting my position I got a phone call from Nick. We spoke for a little while and made plans to watch a movie. He had asked me if he should bring a movie, which I confirmed by saying, "Once I get home and dry myself out I'm not going anywhere in this."

The woman in front of me overheard this and turned around to give me a high five. I wrapped up my phone call quickly and started up a conversation with the woman. She told me about how she was regretting her decision to go out and get a gift for a friends baby shower. We exchanged hateful words about the weather and then she began to tell me a story.

Some three weeks prior she had noticed that her bus pass was missing. This was a huge problem being as her arthritis had recently placed her on disability and her fixed income didn't allow for unexpected expenses. However without her pass she'd been having to pay the fare for each ride. So in the last three weeks she'd been searching like crazy to find her pass, with no luck. Now as she was planning her trip downtown to buy a present she decided that she would take the 7 instead of the 106. She hadn't taken the 7 in weeks, but something made her decide to on that day.

She boarded the bus and sat down. Not five minutes later a young man boarded the bus. Upon seeing her he got slightly excited and sat beside her. "I just knew I'd see you again," he said. "I'm sorry have we met before," she replied. "Only briefly. We met on this bus a few weeks ago. Just after you got off I realized that you dropped this.." He then pulled her regional disabled bus pass from his jacket with her picture on it. She could hardly contain herself. She was so grateful.

As she was relaying this story to me she said something along the lines of: "It's just so nice to see. Now I'm not sure if I believe in God but I tell you, there is some higher power out there. These kinds of things don't just happen. And it was a YOUNG person nonetheless. I'm just so happy to see that there is still some good in this world." I replied, "There's always been good out there. It just gets harder to find with every day." At this time we were pulling up the stop at 4th and Jackson, where I had to get off. I thanked the woman for sharing her story with me and got off the bus. The rain was coming down hardest yet. Strange thing was that this time it felt more like a baptismal than a punishment...



Saturday night I met PMRob for dinner. After dinner I expected to go home for a quiet evening but PMRob had other ideas. We went to King's for a beer. The scene was a madhouse so we bailed. Went to the Stepping Stone. Great little place. They had live music and good ales. From there he insisted that we continue one our journey and we went to Copper Gate. Swanky little place. I'd go back, but it would definitely have to be with the right group of people. Now at this point I was completely done with the evening, unfortunately it wasn't done with me. We crossed the street and headed up to the Viking, apparently I was having a vitamin R deficiency. We drank the pitcher of Rainier and I ended up talking to this really chill guy from Germany. We talked for a while about skiing and other such nonsense. The bartender made the announcement for last call and I'd realized that I was out too late. This however still wasn't the end. PMRob convinced me that we had to go back to 7-11 and get some Rainiers to drink while we hit up the wii bowling at my place.
However on the way home from 7-11 I found a phone, Blackberry 8900, just sitting on the sidewalk undamaged. I picked it up. I'd thought of getting one many times in the past but decided against it for financial reasons. After picking up the phone I looked through the recent calls and without even thinking about it called the last number to see if I could determine the phones rightful owner. I called the last three numbers with no answer. Then I started poking around and found the Facebook app on his phone. This identified the man as Rodney and I was able to send him a message over FB. However that would be meaningless as the phone rang.

It flashed the name Stanley as it vibrated. I answered it. A voice on the other end said, "So you made it home Jeff?" This kind of freaked me out at first. Mostly because in some ways I am a Jeff. I recollected my thoughts and replied, "No, I'm not sure he did. I found this phone on the sidewalk." "Well I'd say thats not a good sign at all." "I'd say so." "See this isn't Jeff's phone either. He was keeping it safe for a friend of mine. Is it possible for me to meet with you tomorrow to get the phone back?" "Yeah no problem. Just call me tomorrow at this number."

I then spent the next hour explaining the PMRob the situation with the phone. It was a little complicated and he was struggling to understand all the players in this scene. "So you have Stanley's phone?" "No I have Rodney's phone." "Ok, so who's Jeff? And why are you talking to Stanley?" It went on for some time like that. We were up till nearly 5am bowling and drinking and trying to figure out all the pieces.

I woke up Sunday morning and the phone had been ringing off the hook from a variety of different numbers. I finally connected with Stanley who promptly came and picked up the phone. Later that I day I got a call from Rodney. I guess he wants to buy me dinner. It's not a new phone, but I'll take a free dinner for doing the right thing any day...


As I passed through the warehouse this morning they were playing the Beatles. This pleased me greatly...

A sense of completion

I'm done with the 7 project. Its been 10 months since I started it and now it's done. I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm not going to put it up here. If you want to read the final draft hit me up in the comments and I'll send you a copy of it. So far my favorite response came from PMRob, "its like i am reading a foreign language". While I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, but I like it. Now I have to see if there's anyone out there willing to publish such a thing. I guess I'm going to submit it as a short story, but its not really a short story. I don't know what it is. It just is.

The Seven, HWDs and The Establishment

So I'm riding the Seven home last night. It was just a standard bus ride at first. I was sitting in the back lounge area, because it was the only comfortable seat available. Those of you with long legs may have realized by now that only half of the seats are comfortable. So I've got my headphones on minding my own business when this teenage guy starts running his mouth. At first I don't even bother to listen and just continue listening to Parklife. However I notice that this was quickly becoming volatile and should probably keep an ear open just in case. It wasn't even two minutes before this kid announces, "It's the fucking establishment! Like this honky white devil here!" (points at me) "He's a part of the ESTABLISHMENT!!!" I couldn't help but laugh to myself. I mean seriously? People say that kind of thing? When did tolerance become a one way street? So the kid is all fired up and an older Hispanic man chimes in, "Go to Mexico." They then have a back and forth, the kid with broken ebonics and the man in broken spanglish. I wasn't able to follow the words they produced but some how they came to an agreement and a few stops later when the man was exiting the bus they actually exchanged an embrace. What a strange thing the Seven is. These are the kinds of encounters that the Seattle Times refers to as "a colorful part of daily life".

I hardly knew I should use my feet again

There is a lot of buzz about Bill Clinton. Props to the guy for getting those ladies out of N Korea. I just don't understand why he is all the sudden a hero for this? What about his efforts after Katrina? Or the Asian Tsunami? People seem to have forgotten everything else that he's done since being President. That being said, I'm glad he did it...

"And you know you know you know it all went wrong"...

Had a great meeting last night. Went over some killer ideas about how to finish up the 7 project. The way things are going I need to finish it soon or it's just not going to be the same...

I have another meeting tonight. I'm not looking as forward to this one. It's not quiet as jovial as last nights. Hopefully it goes well...

"And you know you know you know it was all wrong"...

Draft 6 - Complete

Well I've finished my sixth draft of 7. I hope to only have one more before a final product is available. I think that the biggest change is that I've replaced James Dean. Dean wasn't really the person I needed for that scene. Jesse Helms has taken his place. It's much more fitting that way. Here's a revised excerpt...

...Jesse clears the excess phlegm from his throat before turning to a man, probably in his late twenties, next to him, “These kids today, they’ve got no respect for anything. Parents just let em do whatever they want.” The man, dressed in brilliantly colored fabric most likely assembled on his personal sewing machine, remained silent. James snorts slightly, “Know what I mean?” The man looks up at Jesse and with a very plain and straight face says, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Jesse lets out a painful bout of laughter that causes small amounts of liquid to spray from the open wound in his neck, “Why would you son. You’re probably just as bad as they are.”  

A nickel and two pennies

I just finished another draft of the 7 project. I'm starting to get really pleased with it. I figure its the fifth draft and as it was brought to my attention that means I only have two more. And while I don't mean to start putting the cart in front of the horse I also have been thinking about what comes after I complete this project. I'm starting to think that I may work more on the bus stories project. You might remember I've done 7 and 43. I also have a draft that I did about the 54. Maybe with a little focus I could work it all into a larger piece. Then maybe the novel? But again, that's not for a little while...

Here's a part of the new draft. I think this is the section that changed the most...

Klara, hair softly rustled, exchanges a long look with Nick, having forgotten their past. A confusion and intrigue neither of them understands. I blink and Billy Pilgrim appears sitting sideways with filthy flamingo eyes. He would be wearing tattered sweats and no shoes. Montana Wildhack is in a wheelchair with a child. Her disheveled hair tangling and straightening in Billy's vision while his eyes glazed over in time. Billy can see the blood of past mistakes on Nick’s hands as he goes through a small bag of trash on the seat beside him. He begins to pull items from the bag; an empty pack of gum, the weekly circular from a local super market, two cigarette butts, an old baseball. He begins to repack his rubbish when Klara sends him a suggestive look and motions to the vacant seat beside her. Nick plans his move carefully before following her suggestion. Montana notices Billy’s exposed toes and removes her shoes and passes them to him. "Go ahead try them on. They'll keep your feet warm." Klara smiles and looks out the window as she reaches for Nick’s hand. Billy put the shoes on and smiled like no human had before. Nick slowly moves his hands over Klara’s lap and releases his grasp. Her hands float to her knees with movements like wind. “Thank you,” she says quietly before he stands up with his bag and leaves her again. Billy, wearing his new shoes, replaces Nick on the seat beside Klara. She is startled at first but something about the rippling of his eyes sooths her fears. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two pennies and a nickel. He holds them in the palm of his hand half way between them both. Klara is captivated with the color and shape of the coins. Billy clenches his fist, overturns his hand, “These are for you.” Klara opens her hand, “I don’t understand.” Billy ages before her, “…in time,” and with a violet light and hum he is gone.

Poker, 7 and an untitled work

We're getting the band back together. Poker night at Goldies. It's been a long time, but figure since everyone is in town it'd be fitting. I'll probably go out in the first hand. That's just my thing...

I had a great meeting over the weekend about the 7 project. I have the best "editor". Got a lot of good ideas for additions. This is turning into quite the project. I'm actually really excited about. It has a lot of potential to be the best thing to date. Now I just need to keep with this momentum and not let it fall to the back burner, like so many other things. I don't think that should be too much of a problem. I've started dreaming about it...

Here's an excerpt from another project that I'm hoping to pull out the vaults. I guess a quick way to describe it is as a novel about a religious experience. You may have noticed I'm a little obsessed with religion and this work is kind of my tribute to that. I ended up shelving it when I got discouraged over something, I don't even remember what. This is going to be the next big undertaking once I finish 7:

Hayden sat at the top of Caribou Peak looking out over Queen Charlotte Straight. He had been awoken in the night by a dream. His memory of it was hazy but he distinctly remembered seeing Maria Drake and hearing something about her son, Sean. Hayden had long believed that his dreams were a prediction of thing to come, however never before had one been so clouded he didn’t understand the message.
The sun was hours from cresting the mainland and not even the birds sang. A group of elk moved through the woods behind his small cabin, occasionally grunting or rustling the ferns. One of the new calves become lost and wandered out to the spot where Hayden was sitting. The calf was sure to be a recent addition to the herd, as it still bore it’s spots of childhood.
As Hayden reached out to pet the animal and it pulled back. Startled by the sudden action of the calf he stood up cautiously. The young elk then moved to his other side and looked down the steep bluff towards the road. Hayden went to see what it was hinting at when he noticed a man on the side of the road, illuminated only by the moonlight.
The man was wearing a long brown cloak with a hood that hung low over his face. The silence was disturbed when the calf almost lost its footing and sent a cascade of rocks down the hillside. The stranger turned his head slightly to look up to the bluff. His eyes glowed a strange essence over the bluffs. Hayden bore a heavy sense of déjà vu as he stared down on the man. The air became cold and carried a voice before the man hastily turned away and continued walking down the desolate road, “You can’t save him. He’s mine.”

Ode to Sweat

Its on my forehead, in my eyes, saturating the air around me. I wonder who damned the 7 to this fate. I can now taste it in my mouth and feel a burning in my lungs. There is nothing like the smell of humans rotting in the sun long before they die. I urge you, Reckoner, we've paid the price.

No connecting actions and words

Seattle is sweltering. 90 degree temperatures in the beginning of June is too much. They say relief is on the horizon. We just have to make it through today...

I just finished reading President Obama's speech in Cairo. That man continues to inspire me. I'm glad that we finally have a president whose concern for the Americans in unwavering but also recgonizes the plight of others in the world. He also referenced a great quote from Jefferson that I think is still very true today, "I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be." One thing that he said that really stuck with me was, "If we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward." This hit home for me and I think that he's been able to express an idea that I've believed for a long time but have never been able to phrase so eloquently...

I've been making some progress on the Festival Front. I got a blog post up yesterday on the Lucile Street Brewing Blog. There is a lot of information there about the stuff we're going to try to get accomplished. However if any of you have some ideas for other things don't hesitate for a moment to throw them my way. With the way things are shaping up so far I think we may be doing it big enough this year to make last year seem like child's play...

I've got a meeting this weekend about 7. I think that I'm getting much closer to a final product. But just to hold everyone over here's another little excerpt:

Jason Itzler entered from the middle door wearing a coat of animal skins and a feathered hat, hoping no one noticed his presence. He was aided by a group of rival girls, "I don't know who you think you are!" The words echo down the narrow hall and fall upon the ears of Christ, sitting four rows up shaking his head. Jason glances around quizzically. "I'm going to show you who I am!" Two women in oversized coats rise from their seats and begin to assault the others. Further forward a man begins to slur quotes of the Lord to anyone willing to listen. Everyone was going back and forth between the violence and the false prophet. Finally the skirmish subsides. Jason takes a seat in the rotunda and pulls out a small mirror as a young girl tugged on his leg, "Have you seen my mommy?" He couldn't bring himself to suggest that she may be the one bleeding on the floor. Jesus weeps at his creation as he reads a sign out the window, "Homeless, God Bless".

Sunday Morning on the 7

While many people commemorate the sabbath by attending Church i ride the 7. The lack of seating options make it clear im not the only one. They come from all walks of life to meet and say their silent pagan prayers. Many hide behind headphones and fictious novels in a vain attempt to block out the veiled humanity. They cannot hide forever.

A man boards the front with all of his belongings tied to his back, a philosophy i once subscribed to but found too daunting a task to be sustainable. From the weathered look on his face its apparent he would agree. He takes a seat in the center of the articulated bus where there is ample space to spread out his life. He pulls a tall can from one of his sachels and much to my surprise it is some kind of tea and not a mind numbing fortified beveridge. A little boy has escaped his mothers eye and stands before the vagabond as if he were watching the shock and awe over baghdad. His mother was preoccupied by a novel whose cover portrayed a half naked man standing on a rock surrounded by crashing waves holding a lust ridden woman in his arms. When she notices his absence panic sets in. She spots the boy and rushes to scoop him up. The dilapidated man cracks a small smile and waves to the boy who bursts into laughter. After everyone settles back in the man pulls a book from the largest of his bags and begins to read. A few people come and go before i realize from the cover picture he may be reading the same story as the boys mother.

Walking around like a walker

I got rid of the damn crutches!!! I can't possible express how happy I am about this. I can walk without having to prop myself up! They also told me that in the next 2-3 weeks I'll be able to wear my own shoes again and ditch the boot all together. I can't wait...

Handsome Furs (Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and his wife) is playing Neumos a week from friday. Anyone who is interested in going should hit me up...

I'm a little torn about the 4th of July. For the last couple years I've gone to a friends house down on Alki which is always a blast. The only problem is getting back. It was much easier when I lived in W Seattle. So I'm thinking about just doing something at my place. Beer, bbq and blowing stuff up, you know, 4th of July...

I guess that I'll leave you with another preview of the project I'm working on. I'm going to post it all as a complete work once I have it to the point I like it. But I figure this way you'll get to see some variations:

Shrouded by hoods Abraham and Hagar discuss the finer intricacies of deism and it's place in modern society. Lady Madonna sits open legged reading a guide to Dungeons and Dragons. Her socks extend to the depths beneath her dress, striped in colors with no particular pattern. Suddenly Urban II proclaims, "Ain't no one better than Jesus! Ain't no one do you like Jesus!" He then spills a tall can of malt liquor trying to pull out a world map. Madonna's children are crying but she can't hear them. Abe has had enough and pulls the cord.




By the way, whatever happened with swine flu? Are we still all going to die?

Short and sweet

I'm trying to wrap up another draft of my 7 project so I'm not going to blog too much today. Just a couple quick things...

Will future generations justify calling us barbarians because of our use of fossil fuels or because of our lack of social consciousness?...

I need to apologize to my dad. I guess after my surgery I made a pretty harsh statement that I don't remember. I didn't mean it. You've been awesome. I don't know how I'd have made it through all of this with out ya...

Memorial day without the mayhem

It's a holiday. The sun is shining. If you want to bbq come over to my house. I want to eat copious amounts of animal flesh and drink buckets of beer...

The injury is healing nicely if I have to say so myself. It's been about a week since I've had to take any pain killers. And I'm only using the crutches when I leave the house. Tomorrow the doctor should tell me that I can ditch the sticks all together. I can't wait...

As you all can probably guess from recent posts, I've developed a sort of obsession with Deerhunter. I went through their blog and downloaded all kinds of stuff. It's all that I've listened to this weekend. It has a way of making me feel very human while still completely detached from the world. I guess that's how I've been feeling a lot lately. It's been inspiring me to write though...

I made some pasta salad last night at midnight. I'm not sure why. I guess I didn't realize what time it was when I started. I even made the dressing from scratch. It has bacon and egg and peppers. I hope it's good. When I tried it last night I decided it should chill before I give it a final verdict...

I ate so many swedish fish last night that I thought I was going to puke. But it was soooo good...

I'm starting to make some decent progress on this 7 project I've been working on. Had a meeting last week and it totally changed my prospective on the whole thing. Here's another little teaser:

St. Christopher sits behind the wheel, slightly hunched, asks for the fare. His facial features and skin tone seem to change as if a cameleon gone into shock. He admires them all, then pretends like they were never there, as he continues to constantly watch them. The Vicario brothers board in a frenzy. Behind their eyes its apparent they haven't slept or eaten in days. Pedro can't stop tapping his foot, a beat resembling the national anthem. Pablo is picking the moles from his forearm with a knife he unwrapped from a newspaper. Pedro's arms jet up from stillness, fingers pointing forward as if to sign some great event. His satchel falls scattering watches, tobacco and a variety of hot sauces all across the ribbed floor. He attempts to sell a watch to a Korean immigrant before collapsing into sleep.

Hopefully I'll be able to get the rest of what's in my head adequately expressed within the confines of words. I just have to have faith in myself, which seems to be growing every day...

Đó là vô nghia

I just learned that I'm not a part of Generation Y, now I'm in the Millennial Generation. I guess it makes sense. I never really cared to be labeled a Y. However this comes from an article that I was reading about the emergence of Millennial voters and what will be their lasting impact on American politics. Pretty interesting stuff...

I've forgotten to mention to you all that we (*upon reading this again I'm not sure why I said "we" and not "I" but instead of editing it have chosen to just add this little bit of filler*) have a new address. To make it easier for everyone you can find me at www.desomnia.com now. Some guy already had desomniac.com. Not exactly sure why he has it. I might have to pressure him out of it...

I finally was able to wash my foot. The skin peeled off in large chunks that I considered keeping in order to make a life sized mold of my foot. Then I decided that was nasty...

I'm going to see Wolverine tonight. I loved the X-men movies, so I'm hoping this is just as good. I haven't been to a movie theater in a long time. I think that the last thing I saw was the Simpson's movie. Hopefully nothing has changed too drastically...

I really need to do more writing. I have this horrible habit of starting a project, getting really excited about it, and then letting it just fizzle out. I don't know why. I guess that I need to work more on my follow through. So since I never finish anything I'll throw out another excerpt. This is from the project that I was doing about the 7:

A young mother sits facing center
A book of Vietnamese characters lays open on her lap
As she tries to teach her child what they all mean.
“You need to teach them English!”
An elderly woman, who could be her aunt, yells
“They won’t go nowhere here without English!”
The child replies, “Đó là vô nghia”

I hope that I got my Vietnamese translation right. But if I didn't would you know the difference? I might post something else for you later. I ran across this story that I wrote like 10 years ago. Could be fun...

If you haven't checked out the recent post on indoorsprout.com you should. There is some great pics of the garden's progress...

A little more serious perhaps?

So after that last post I figure that I should put up something of value...

My dad started a new blog to showcase his building designs. It's pretty cool stuff. You can check it out here....

I haven't been on a bus in over three weeks. It's very strange for me. I hope that when I finally get back to it that the 7 is just the same as it's always been. Luckily for me I don't think that my presence or lack thereof will have any effect on the 7...

The President announced 17 billion dollars is cuts from the federal budget. There is a lot of uproar that it's insignificant. However the figure as small as it may seem is larger than the GDP of 85 countries on the planet. So while it may seem like a drop in the bucket, 17 billion is still a huge number. Don't forget that...

I cannot wait for the Beatles albums to be remastered. They're being released 9/9/9. I'm already starting to plan the festivities...

And I think that I'll close with a little "happy" corn...

















I guess this wasn't worth much in the end either. Oh well...

On the 7 again

The bus driver has no hair on top his head and a large beard. Three stops in and we've already had two lifts. The young man with the bike has no idea a small girl has been staring at him since he boarded. His helmet must act as a sort of armor in this place, much like my headphones. Everyone is protected in their own way.
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