Had the best morning on my favorite bus The 218 from Cedars Sinai over Laurel Canyon tp Studio City. On the way there just three passengers. My usual driver wasn’t there; replaced this morning with another African American woman… “Good morning!” “Good Morning” One passenger was a young fella probably about 21 obviously interested in - if not a player - rock music. Another fella more my age with bright green singlet and bright red big shorts, put his bike on the rack at the front of the bus and got on.., Very chatty, I didn’t think I’d like him. For the first time on the 218 there wasn’t a Mexican lady talking on a mobile phone for the whole journey (usually taking 99% of the conversation. I missed that. Anyway the bike man got to talking to the music lad and yes the lad was in a band and played guitar, “..and I play bass and keyboards too” “Do you sing? asked Pushbike Man... “Yes I sing too.” “I could see that” said the Bike man... “How would you see that?” thought Mister Kermudgen. Anyway, it was terrific trip up the windy Canyon road to Studio City. I met up with some friends over there. Mentioned that despite budgetry issues my good buddy Mr Neil Wax and I were going to see Paul McCartney at Dodgers Stadium tonight. The $100 seats. Row R. So we have rows S,T,U,V,W,X,Y and Zee behind us…And of course rows AAAA BBBB and the $850 seats in front. But I know we’ll have a good time. I haven’t seen Paul since 1964 and we’ve both passed a lot of water since then; had our ups and downs; written some good and bad rhyme. He probably has budgetry issues of his own. Another buddy, Frank who does a bit of waitering work between gigs chipped in that Paul. Ringo and Joe Walsh were dining at his restaurant last night and the staff had to bar people from going to their table as it was getting silly. So big outing tonight. Returning on the 218 back Mr Pushbike Man was at my stop; he hooked his bike up again and now there’s just the three of us. He’s up closer to the front talking to the driver, she is a solo Mum and has an extra shift today. He sympathises and talks of his bike riding, he can’t ride up the hill so gets out and rides for miles up in the Valley “Its shady where I go and safer” I’m working on some song lyrics but hear him tell of his life ; he was left an old apartment block by his Dad in Israel and had used all his skills learned in LA to good use doing it up there …Had since sold it etc etc… He turned conspiritorially to look who else was there - only me, but he walked up and stood close to the driver and I heard him say “I don’t tell this to many people but..” And that’s as much of the story as I was privy to… i was surprised how softly he could speak. The bus stops half way down Laurel Canyon and on gets an elderly man, pushing a walker; he’s a sharp dresser, nice jacket; bright pink shirt, Fedora hat; black face, white hair and teeth and bright, bright eyes. “Hi!! My name is Willie and I’m 80 years old!” He waved to another man who had got on the bus but he was on earphones listening to something. I waved back “Hi Willie” He said “Are you having a good day?” I said “Yeah, you’d have to be running bad to moan on a day like this” He said “This is the day God has made ...Oh they say it’s Mother Nature but what is Mother Nature but God? Hmm?” I smile. “Thank you Willie” The Bike Man is still up front talking to the driver. Willie continues, addressing the whole bus but I’m the only one having the pleasure of hIs company and alive, alive eyes. “I’ve lived here since 1957. The rains came every day…” “We could use some of that now.” I said. Willie said “It will come again... Be ready. Be ready.” I said “ Yeah, I’ll be ready.” He said “I made you smile didn’t I?” “You sure did Willie” I was my stop; I shook his hand and walked to the front. We were at the junction of Fairfax and Santa Monica Boulevards; a slight stop over for the bus. Bike man said to the driver “I’ll get one for me and one for you” and got off the bus and dived into a coffee shop. I shook Willie’s hand and we smiled I got off and walked halfway across the road and thought “I want a photo of Willie” I turned but the lights had changed and the traffic was all honking and zooming... I can see Willie’s smiling, knowing, positive face in my mind’s eye but a picture is worth a thousand words. Sitting at Whole Foods having some late breakfast I thought “Is that all it is? Maybe that’s all I have to do; stay in the day and try to make someone smile or maybe take time and effort to go out of my way to get a hard working person a drink. (Or a non working person a sandwich.” To know that we are not alone and that this is not all the hostile selfish place we can allow ourselves to believe…
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 22:32:48 +0000
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