5-16: Mid-month ramble

I often have random experiences during my commute that don't fit into the posts I write and just sit in the back of my mind. They're starting to build up, so I decided I would allow my self to ramble on about some random things I've experienced so far this month.

First, the drivers on the bus deserve a huge thank-you from our community! They not only have to deal with driving the bus safely through various traffic, construction and weather-related obstacles with impatient motorists honking at them for taking 5 unnecessary seconds of their time, they have to handle all of the people on the bus.

• There's the elderly man who, without the bus driver recognizing him and knowing exactly where he lives, would not otherwise make it from the grocery store back home. He just walks up to each bus and waits for the driver who says, "Mr. Jones are you heading home? I can take you." He then gets on and hands the driver a pile of bus passes so she can determine which one is valid for his fare. He waits patiently until the driver (who remembers where he needs to stop without him having to pull the bell) stops and tells him it's time to get off.
• There's the cranky lady, who, late for the bus, decides to walk down the middle of the street so the driver's only choices are to either run her over or stop and pick her up wherever they meet. She also happens to be carrying several 4-foot long metal pipes which she bangs around the bus after forgetting to say a simple, "Thank you" to the driver. It also slips her mind when she exits the bus, banging her pipes around once again. I'm sure the drivers will never hit her - although she makes it awful tempting!
• There are the blind people who need assistance finding their stop. The lonely people whose only friend is the driver they see every day on their commute. The poor people who don't have money for their fare. And of course the inexperienced riders who ask a plethora of questions (like me!).
  

Thank you bus drivers, for your kindness, patience, and for using the brake even when it's tempting not to!

Second, I need to address the issue of planning. I'm a natural planner so some of this comes easily to me. It's hard for me to admit, however, that this is a challenge - yes, even for me! Here's an example from Friday. I had several errands I wanted to run and was debating which I would do first, how I could be most efficient in my route, etc. When I thought I was ready to get started, I looked at the time and realized I couldn't make it to the next bus in 7 minutes. So, I decided to do other random things around the house until I looked at the clock again and realized I just missed another bus. Feeling frustrated and having a delay of about an hour at this point I got ready and headed out deciding that waiting 15 minutes at the stop would be better than missing yet another bus. Then my new friend who mowed my deer path for me was out so I stopped to chat and nearly missed my bus again! Corey (slightly lacking in the area of planning ahead) says this is why many people opt out of taking the bus.

Finally, about the food. I have been lucky (or unlucky - whichever side of the coin you're on) enough to take advantage of my two car usages last week to stock up on a few groceries and bulk items. I can't believe how quickly we're going through the "month supply" of canned tomatoes, flour, olive oil and beans I bought at the end of April. It essentially lasted only two weeks. We have been eating a bit more than usual to keep up with all of the energy used in our commute. After a morning of biking Corey and I sat down to lunch and said, "I feel like I really earned this meal!" It's ironic how that's the way our bodies are designed - to consume calories as needed to be converted into energy - but somewhere along the way eating for energy was replaced by just eating because it's time for lunch. I have tried to minimize my need for trips to the store by making as many things from scratch as I can, including all of my own bread - I fear the soft, squishy staple would not fare well in the bike with the two kids. I've been wanting to do this for quite some time and this has been the push I've needed to move forward. That's left a regular list of milk, cheese, eggs and fresh produce to buy when I find the chance. The farmer's market has been awesome - we took the trailer without kids this weekend to load it up with fresh veg and goodies and even managed to fit in a new line-cord trimmer on the way home! Amazing what you can cram into a bike trailer!

That's all for now! Here's to a safe and dry week ahead!