Things that might be decidedly odd…

On Pre-Teen Runaways

Yesterday, on my way to work I missed the bus I wanted (by a few seconds–the driver was actually early) and had to walk down Olive to catch the next bus. At the bus stop, I was just listening to music and generally trying to pass the time while I waited. I noticed these two girls who were probably about 10 years old. One had a large pink gym bag that appeared stuffed full and the other had a large black plastic garbage bag filled with something that appeared clothing-like. They didn’t appear to be with any adult at the bus stop. I recall thinking something like, “I should call the cops and report these truants”, but figured they were probably just out for the snow day that I’m sure several areas schools were having due to the weather.

Eventually, the 511 to Everett came and they boarded. However, the bus didn’t leave. It just sat there for a good 15 minutes before a Community Transit supervisor showed up and started talking to the driver who got off the bus. After some more time passed, two SPD cruisers showed up and escorted the girls off the bus. After the bus pulled away, the officers started questioning the girls. The girls tried to convince the police that they weren’t running away, but after a while it was clear that they were lying. Apparently, they had made it all the way from Kent to downtown Seattle before getting busted by the fuzz.

Soon after that, they were being transported away in the police cruiser.

Commute

Since I bought my car back in December, I’ve found myself driving to work (as opposed to take the bus) much more often than before. Driving in Seattle rush hour traffic tends to drive me to road rage, anger and general frustration. Lately, I’ve noticed that I’ve been much more stressed and unhappy because of my commute. This week on Thursday and Friday I made a point of taking the bus and it just reminded me how I need to keep doing that. First of all, I don’t get ragey sitting on the bus (well, not usually), which is good for my overall mental health. Also, I remember taking the bus means I do an additional ~30-40 minutes of walking each day, which is good for my physical health. So I’m back on the wagon of taking the bus for my commute whenever possible.