2009apr07. So the “MUNI” light rail vehicle stopped right in front of us and we were the last to board and it was packed so we were standing on the steps, nearly pressed against the doors. I was toting along a book bag, a new kicky addition to my wardrobe that all the ladies were grooving on – and we had had a pretty full day in the city. I was sort of out of it, and just wanted to get home, but we weren’t moving. There were no buzzing noises etc like BART when someone is blocking a door, so all of us in the vehicle slightly craned our necks and looked around hoping to discover the cause of our delay. Finally the driver jumped outside and we’re all thinking “oh, here we go, someone’s going to get it” and he comes right over to where I am and points out my book bag is resting on the door push bar. A) Ever since the first time I got on a MUNI, I’ve hated the design of these things and thought it would be pretty easy to accidentally activate it during typical packed rush hour nonsense B) I’m not easily embarrassed, but there is nothing I hate more than people who get in my way when I’m going from A (not the “A” I’ve just mentioned) to B (not the “B” you’re currently inside of, all snuggly). So to have held up an entire light rail vehicle – even if it was only for a half-minute – filled me with a deep something-something that really got my goat, because again, it was because of this cockamamie bar thing. And all of those people, coming home a half-minute later now – what about their lives? Have I changed them for better, or for worse? Do they come home later to barely miss the gun-toting robber? Or do they give their loved one just enough time to finish putting the frosting on a post-work cupcake? The worst thing, the most horrible thing, is that I’ll never know what happened. All my stories, lost. C) There was a gal sitting facing me – we locked eyes after the doors closed and we were just staring at each other full-bore. Hers were gray, she looked Russian. It went way way past the “perhaps someone should look away” stage. We ended up going out, dating for awhile, living together, growing old, having affairs, travelling a lot – we both ended up dying around the same time and then the train started moving.