Bus Buddies Reunited!

The bus buddies and I have been a little out of touch. Our schedules just have not been coinciding this semester, so there have been far fewer chuckles on my daily commute, however late last week the stars aligned and when the 16 pulled up to the stop on North 2^nd and Division, the bus buddies were reunited at last. It was a very happy and pleasant commute, though again, much too short. Funnily enough, Zac knew other buddies on the bus, so he had the joy of feeling really popular on his morning commute as many people were happy to see him.

 

Zac and I were also able to enjoy another pleasant conversation over dinner at Doyle’s. I’m excited to say, he’s looking forward to my upcoming show and was laughing very much while reading the script. It excites me greatly and I hope others will enjoy it just as much. He even invited me to join his church choir and offered his knowledge and support for my show. My bus buddies are such lovely and wonderful people and I know that if I didn’t ride the bus each day, I truly would have missed out on two great friendships.

 

Amy E. Corcoran '06

Student Financial Services Specialist

University of Puget Sound

253-879-3234

 

Stranger Danger?

Have you ever been given a gift by a stranger? This happens to me a lot and I think it’s because I’m nice; too nice, really. I make eye contact with strangers, smile, and say hello and this has caused me to be put in some pretty awkward situations.

 

I was followed around a grocery store once, cornered, told I was beautiful, and asked out on a date, all because I simply made eye-contact with a man. I went to a bar once and an older lonely French man proposed to me after I spent the evening in conversation with him. A couple from Gig Harbor once gave me a ride in the middle of the night as I walked to a bar in Hilltop. At this bar, I was offered employment by a pimp and given a portrait of myself by a man I didn’t even see. He just handed it to me and slipped out the door. I have oodles of these kinds of stories because these kinds of things just seem to happen to me. Like this next one:

 

For about a year, I have been catching the 16 on Commerce St. There is a man that I see Monday through Friday that makes me really uncomfortable. It’s completely irrational because all he does is wish me a good day or a good weekend, but for some reason he just makes me feel uneasy. I have been thinking about him a lot recently and wondering if I would be this uncomfortable if he was a little younger and a little more attractive. I’m ashamed to admit that I would probably not be as scared if I found him attractive. I could tell he must be an art student because he’s always carrying one of those large cases and takes the 2 to TCC. I felt bad that I had pegged this man as creepy and so am making an effort to be a little bit nicer to him.

I haven’t seen him much this week and was a little relieved, but at the same time wondering where he could be. Then this morning, I saw him get off his bus to make his transfer on Commerce and he walked right past me without saying anything. Again, I was relieved.  A few moments later, he walked back up to me and got a little too close for my comfort level. I realized he was pulling something out of his case and he handed me this beautiful drawing he did. It reminded me of my backpack. It had the same color of purple in the background and the same exploding flowers. He just handed it to me, told me to have a good weekend, and walked away.