Posted by Ken Bolding | Aug 29, 2017 | AiPT |
ADVENTURES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Getting Off Track – by Ken BoldingOn my way to lunch, I saw a car drive over the median to escape an oncoming train. The driver had somehow turned onto the train right of way and was driving north down the tracks about to enter 23rd St Station. I don’t know whether it was seeing the station or the blaring train klaxon that snapped him out of his trance and kickstarted his sense if...
Read MorePosted by Ken Bolding | Aug 29, 2017 | Random Musings |
A Chance Encounter – by Ken Bolding As I was walking to my car just now, a guy asked where he could find the counselors and the enrollment office. I told him that they’re already closed, but they’ll be open again on Monday. He was disappointed, and asked which campus gates were still open; so he could get to the subway station. I told him the one at the staff lot where I was going would definitely be open. As we walked in the same direction, he just launched into his story. He’s an ex-con and hasn’t finished his GED but wants to know if it’s possible to start taking classes because he’s eager to turn his life around. His kid’s mother came here and it seemed to help her; so he wanted to give it a try. He wondered whether being an ex-con would be a problem. I told him that President Obama spoke here a few weeks ago, and when I was in line to get tickets, the guy in front of me in line told us his story. He was in prison. The Obama administration worked to change the sentencing guidelines to lessen the disparity between crack and powdered cocaine. Because of that change, he had been released from prison 15 years early. He came to this school, and joined the culinary program. He has since graduated...
Read MorePosted by Ken Bolding | Aug 29, 2017 | AiPT |
ADVENTURES IN PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION: Garbage Out As usual, the southbound 110 freeway is snarled with bumper-to-bumper traffic approaching downtown L.A. Strangely, the northbound lanes have not a single car. “Not a single car,” just isn’t a phrase one hears in Los Angeles. No matter the time, no matter the place, no matter the activity, if it’s in L.A. it involves lots of cars. Usually too many cars. Not today. As I creep southward, I hear sirens and see police strobes flashing red and blue in the distance, on the northbound side. Moments later, a powder blue garbage truck, escorted by five, unmarked, black, SUV’s with police strobes, zooms by headed north with the road all to themselves. “Keep [L.A.?] Beautiful” is emblazoned on the side of the truck is large, ornate letters. I wonder, for a second, why garbage needs a motorcade. At which point, Donald Trump springs to mind. But being old enough to understand the the difference between the literal and the figurative, I dismiss the idea as absurd. Donald Trump is garbage, but he’s not literally garbage. But I digress. A little farther on, more police vehicles block the roadway. A beige car is turned the wrong way in the passing lane. I can only see their tops because the wall dividing the north and south lanes is now too tall to see what’s happening on...
Read MorePosted by Ken Bolding | Aug 29, 2017 | Random Musings |
The guy at the next table has a strong survival instinct. Woman: Do you think Jennifer Lawrence is pretty? Man: (long pause) Who? Woman: Jennifer Lawrence. Do you thinks she’s pretty? Man: I don’t know who that is. Woman: You don’t know Jennifer Lawrence? …She’s an Oscar-winning actress. Man: Don’t know her. They take a few bites of food. Woman: What about Kate Blanchett? Do you find her attractive? Man: (pause) I don’t know who that is either. Admiral Ackbar has taught him well. Originally published March 2,...
Read MorePosted by Ken Bolding | Aug 29, 2017 | AiPT |
ADVENTURES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Background Overheard on the train (all are strangers): Guy1: Are they hiring where you work? Guy2: Yeah, you should apply. Guy1: Do they do a background check? Guy2: Yeah. Guy1: Can’t do it then. Guy2: They just look for felonies. Guy1: Can’t do it. They make it so hard. I mean, EVERYBODY’S got a felony. Guy3: I’ve got a felony. Guy4: I’ve got a felony! Guy5: I’ve got a felony. Guy2: I’ve just got a misdemeanor. They also ask if you use any illegal drugs. I smoke a lot of pot, but I’ve got a prescription; so it’s not illegal. Originally posted March 9,...
Read More“All faith is false, all faith is true. Truth is a shattered mirror strewn in myriad bits, while each believes his little bit the whole to own.”
– Sir Richard Frances Burton
“It’s been my experience that most leaps of faith are preceded by a shove.”
-Goldie, “I’m Dying Up Here.”
“Those who would trade essential liberty for a little temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
-Groucho Marx
