Making one of my favorite purchases at one of my favorite bodegas in the core. I pull out a crisp $10 bill and buy my item. You hand me a worn out old $5 bill and smile. I smile back and stuff that five spot in my wallet and carry on. The next day, same time, same bodega, same purchase…I hand you back that used up fiver and smile. Completing the circle. Finishing some unfinished business. Taking care of what I started. Tying up some loose ends. Yes
Around 8:15am every morning for the last 2.75 years at the corner of 7th & Bell when I don’t make the light and depending on how hung over I am or who’s around I’ll sit and wait for it, because I can, and depending on the weather conditions there will be between 6 and 14 commuters headed South on 7th in a gravy train motley pace line procession from the light at Dexter and Denny. And each and every day it makes me laugh to see them take that right turn onto Bell Street and signal with their left arm cocked up high at a 90 degree old-school-I’m-taking-a-right-angle. I always smile and joke to myself that they’re waving to me and I wave back.
White line here and there doing what needs to be done, flowing through traffic on 4th Avenue, headed straight to base just like I’ve done 1.6 billion times before. When a car rolls up beside me, rolls down his window and points at me, and says
“40 pounds”, then points at his car and says
“4000 pounds”
Then he floors it and gets ahead of me. And if I wasn’t bringing some bullshit hotfire driving work to base for some drivers that were sitting there at base doing their crossword puzzles, I know I would have caught the guy at the next five lights on his way up to Denny and I would have offered my well thought out responses at each of those five intersections. Oh well.
Yesterday I unlocked and hopped off the sidewalk at the PSP headed to One U. Traffic was backed up on 4th so I weaseled through it the wrong way towards University. A couple suits were jaywalking and I saw them all the way but they didn’t see me and one of them walked right into me. I ducked my shoulder to avoid him but his brief case hit my rear wheel. He tried to pretend nothing happened and I slowed down and kept looking back at him, waiting for him to look, so I could silently call him a dumbass with some eye contact, but he wouldn’t look my way. We were both doing what we needed to do…crossing the street…in the city…the small city, that’s no problem. Both breaking the law, it’s a tossup, except you hit me Mr. Suit, I did all I could to avoid you, I saw you the whole time. So I don’t feel bad. I’m all for intelligent jaywalking. Keep your eyes open.
Hang up and drive, YOU SUCK. You’re a horrible driver, can’t you see I’m trying to ride a bike here and talk to my dispatcher on my Nextel and not spill my coffee…shit, you suck.
You’re a legal messenger, aren‘t you?
Yup.
Where’s Taco Del Mar?
How many tattoos do you have?
I don’t know, 10 or 12
Wow, I really find that fascinating, it’s really neat, that’s great, can I see that fish on your arm, wow that’s great, wow….(and so on and so on and if I wasn’t waiting for the elevator, I could have walked away…) that’s really great but you should’ve seen the last delivery guy that was here with the wild hair, the piercings, and the crazy clothes, he makes you look like a choir boy.
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And finally, one more thing, in closing, give the kid a break, cut him some slack, don’t be a hater...
9.5 years ago I got a job at WLM ‘n M straight from Elliott Bay with no legal experience and people thought I was a punk ass kid that wouldn’t last.
I know now what I knew then, but I didn't know then what I know now
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