A story about a trip.
Apr. 6th, 2006 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ursulaI wanted to take Amtrak home at the end of spring break. But Amtrak was sold out on Sunday, except for the 8:45 AM train, and I wanted to work on my car. So I decided to buy a Greyhound ticket. The Greyhound trip from Portland to Seattle is $30, which is a lot compared to Amtrak, which is $34 with a AAA discount. On the other hand, Amtrak is usually late because the freight trains run on the same tracks. Greyhound is not late unless there is traffic on I-5.
The Portland Amtrak and Greyhound stations are right next to each other. The Amtrak station dates to the 1800s and is very pretty inside. The Greyhound station sells more food, but none of it is food I would want to eat. My dad waited with me until I picked up my ticket, and then left. To go into the main waiting area, I had to pass a security guard. He opened all the pockets on my backpack, and then took out a metal detector wand. I admitted that I had my Swiss Army knife in my pocket. I was sorry that my dad had left, because otherwise I would have been able to give the knife to him. The security guard asked a younger security guard to deal with my knife. The younger guard looked like one of Gary's relatives, but I don't think I know him. He looked at my Swiss Army knife, and said, "Is this what they're calling a knife these days? It has a toothpick!" I did not talk to him about broken Snapple bottles. I told him that my knife doesn't have a toothpick, but it does have a flashlight, and showed him how to press the shield on the knife to make it light up.
There was another man who also had a knife. He had a much stronger folding jackknife. He told the young security guard that he worked in Yosemite National Park, and knew more of the park than most of the rangers. He also said he was always recruiting people to work in the park. He was very angry about his knife being taken away. He told a story about getting off a Greyhound bus and being jumped by a person with a knife who slashed his face and his back. He pointed to the scars on his face. The young security guard said, "But you got him off you?" The parks guy said, "The police did." The security guard showed his knife to the parks guy. The parks guy seemed to think it was newfangled. Then the desk attendant was available to put my Swiss Army knife in the envelope for Greyhound shipping to Seattle. It was $5. Then I waited for a while and thought about buying something from the vending machines, but none of the vending machines inside the secure area had anything good.
When they finally let us get on the bus, I sat by the window. I was reading Diary of a Country Priest. I was near the end. I had read it before, so I knew it was sad. A large person sat down next to me. I think she had gray hair in a ponytail. She said she was from Orange County and asked if I knew where that was. She was very excited about the view of the mountain. I told her it was Mount Hood. I finished my book and she read the Bible. I think she was reading Song of Solomon. She said she was going to Seattle to work as a pastor. She was very excited about pastor Brian, who was her fiance or husband, I couldn't tell which. She had gone to nursing school, but decided that was not the way for her. She kept asking whether each town was Tacoma, because she lived in Tacoma as a little kid. She said to a woman getting off the bus, "Honey, read the Bible! Genesis 2:22! And he named her WOMAN. There is a man for you, honey, but it's not this one." The woman she was talking to had very big earrings. She smiled in a confused kind of way. The woman sitting next to me told me about how another pastor had told her that she and pastor Brian were an Abraham and Sarah story. He was also a surfer and made her a CD about being a singing minister, and a lover, but only in a Godly sort of way. They held hands on church grounds, and Song of Solomon was God's love story. She also talked to the boy sitting across the aisle. He was young and had a haircut like a Marine. Later it turned out that he was a Marine. I don't know if he knew Dan. He talked about his friends who wanted to be ministers or youth pastors. He also let her use his laptop. She tried to find pastor Brian's website, which was cavelrychapel.com, but of course the wireless connection did not work for very long. Then she was confused. She told the Marine about pastor Brian's webcasts of his sermons. He showed her an e-mail his mother had sent him. It had many numbers, and talked about Revelations and Iraq. She asked, "Did your mom write this?" He said it was a forward. She said, "Well! I just don't understand it!" Later they talked about music. The Marine said he liked Christian rock, and that he was getting into country because half of the Marine Corps is from Texas, so country is the music of the Marine Corps. He gave her his favorite song to listen to on his iPod. She was really excited. She danced in her seat and shouted, "Hallelujah!" The Marine asked her several times where she was going in Seattle. She said pastor Brian bought a house, but she didn't know exactly where it was. She left Orange County with an empty gas tank and no money in her pocket, and God had brought her this far. Her car broke down and she didn't stay to get it fixed because the hotel room was costing too much. She thought she might get it back eventually. She said two nice people from a Four Corners church in Idaho had bought her a Greyhound ticket and prayed for her. The Marine said there was a Four Corners church near where he grew up. He had gone home to try to buy a car, and he had wanted to take the train too, so the bus was his last resort. When the Marine got off the bus, he gave her his cell phone number. He also called a friend to ask the name of the band of his favorite song that he gave her to listen to.
By that time, it was getting dark. The person in the seat next to me tried to sleep but she was too fidgety. We drove past Boeing air field and she thought it was good luck because she gets a pension from Boeing, but not because she used to work there. She asked me about banks. I said maybe a credit union, and my boyfriend didn't like Key Bank. She asked me what my boyfriend's name was, and I told her it was Brian. She thought that was hilarious. She laughed and lifted her hands up so her left hand slapped her left knee and her right hand slapped my left knee. I never learned her name, and she did not ask me for contact information.
"So no matter what, you end up in a black hole?" - Piotr
"Unless you're a light ray." - GR prof
"OK, you don't always end up in a black hole." - GR prof, next day
"Chemists, biologists . . . Everyone else is stuck around MeV." - string theory prof
[Same game.]
The Portland Amtrak and Greyhound stations are right next to each other. The Amtrak station dates to the 1800s and is very pretty inside. The Greyhound station sells more food, but none of it is food I would want to eat. My dad waited with me until I picked up my ticket, and then left. To go into the main waiting area, I had to pass a security guard. He opened all the pockets on my backpack, and then took out a metal detector wand. I admitted that I had my Swiss Army knife in my pocket. I was sorry that my dad had left, because otherwise I would have been able to give the knife to him. The security guard asked a younger security guard to deal with my knife. The younger guard looked like one of Gary's relatives, but I don't think I know him. He looked at my Swiss Army knife, and said, "Is this what they're calling a knife these days? It has a toothpick!" I did not talk to him about broken Snapple bottles. I told him that my knife doesn't have a toothpick, but it does have a flashlight, and showed him how to press the shield on the knife to make it light up.
There was another man who also had a knife. He had a much stronger folding jackknife. He told the young security guard that he worked in Yosemite National Park, and knew more of the park than most of the rangers. He also said he was always recruiting people to work in the park. He was very angry about his knife being taken away. He told a story about getting off a Greyhound bus and being jumped by a person with a knife who slashed his face and his back. He pointed to the scars on his face. The young security guard said, "But you got him off you?" The parks guy said, "The police did." The security guard showed his knife to the parks guy. The parks guy seemed to think it was newfangled. Then the desk attendant was available to put my Swiss Army knife in the envelope for Greyhound shipping to Seattle. It was $5. Then I waited for a while and thought about buying something from the vending machines, but none of the vending machines inside the secure area had anything good.
When they finally let us get on the bus, I sat by the window. I was reading Diary of a Country Priest. I was near the end. I had read it before, so I knew it was sad. A large person sat down next to me. I think she had gray hair in a ponytail. She said she was from Orange County and asked if I knew where that was. She was very excited about the view of the mountain. I told her it was Mount Hood. I finished my book and she read the Bible. I think she was reading Song of Solomon. She said she was going to Seattle to work as a pastor. She was very excited about pastor Brian, who was her fiance or husband, I couldn't tell which. She had gone to nursing school, but decided that was not the way for her. She kept asking whether each town was Tacoma, because she lived in Tacoma as a little kid. She said to a woman getting off the bus, "Honey, read the Bible! Genesis 2:22! And he named her WOMAN. There is a man for you, honey, but it's not this one." The woman she was talking to had very big earrings. She smiled in a confused kind of way. The woman sitting next to me told me about how another pastor had told her that she and pastor Brian were an Abraham and Sarah story. He was also a surfer and made her a CD about being a singing minister, and a lover, but only in a Godly sort of way. They held hands on church grounds, and Song of Solomon was God's love story. She also talked to the boy sitting across the aisle. He was young and had a haircut like a Marine. Later it turned out that he was a Marine. I don't know if he knew Dan. He talked about his friends who wanted to be ministers or youth pastors. He also let her use his laptop. She tried to find pastor Brian's website, which was cavelrychapel.com, but of course the wireless connection did not work for very long. Then she was confused. She told the Marine about pastor Brian's webcasts of his sermons. He showed her an e-mail his mother had sent him. It had many numbers, and talked about Revelations and Iraq. She asked, "Did your mom write this?" He said it was a forward. She said, "Well! I just don't understand it!" Later they talked about music. The Marine said he liked Christian rock, and that he was getting into country because half of the Marine Corps is from Texas, so country is the music of the Marine Corps. He gave her his favorite song to listen to on his iPod. She was really excited. She danced in her seat and shouted, "Hallelujah!" The Marine asked her several times where she was going in Seattle. She said pastor Brian bought a house, but she didn't know exactly where it was. She left Orange County with an empty gas tank and no money in her pocket, and God had brought her this far. Her car broke down and she didn't stay to get it fixed because the hotel room was costing too much. She thought she might get it back eventually. She said two nice people from a Four Corners church in Idaho had bought her a Greyhound ticket and prayed for her. The Marine said there was a Four Corners church near where he grew up. He had gone home to try to buy a car, and he had wanted to take the train too, so the bus was his last resort. When the Marine got off the bus, he gave her his cell phone number. He also called a friend to ask the name of the band of his favorite song that he gave her to listen to.
By that time, it was getting dark. The person in the seat next to me tried to sleep but she was too fidgety. We drove past Boeing air field and she thought it was good luck because she gets a pension from Boeing, but not because she used to work there. She asked me about banks. I said maybe a credit union, and my boyfriend didn't like Key Bank. She asked me what my boyfriend's name was, and I told her it was Brian. She thought that was hilarious. She laughed and lifted her hands up so her left hand slapped her left knee and her right hand slapped my left knee. I never learned her name, and she did not ask me for contact information.
"So no matter what, you end up in a black hole?" - Piotr
"Unless you're a light ray." - GR prof
"OK, you don't always end up in a black hole." - GR prof, next day
"Chemists, biologists . . . Everyone else is stuck around MeV." - string theory prof
[Same game.]
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Date: 2006-04-07 12:05 am (UTC)Otherwise known as "AaArG!"?
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Date: 2006-04-07 12:07 am (UTC)