The gods, they smile on me.

What a day, peoples! What a day! Yesterday morning, I had some bread in my lunch box, a multigrain bread with millet, flax and sesame seeds. While I was waiting at the bus stop, the sparrows were hopping around, foraging in the Char-grill parking lot. If you're a bird, it's apparently a good place to look for breakfast. I pulled out the bread and started feeding the birds. It appears as though they remembered me. I sat down on the bench, and was greeted by a ballsy little sparrow who came close enough I could have pet him. He chirped at me. While this was happening, Babushko walked up. It was very cold this morning. Today, he wore his long black trench coat, gold corduroys long enough to cover his ankles and one gardening glove. He did not have his silk plaid scarf with him. He stood by the other bench for a few minutes, then walked over to me. He said, "Nicest lady of them all" a few times then walked over to the other bench. He repeated this a few times before the bus came. I think I might knit him a nice warm hat, scarf and gloves.

Recently, I've been taking an earlier bus because the one I normally take has been running very late. This morning, I decided to take a chance that it was running on time. The bus pulled up at the stop and who was behind the wheel? Boyfriend. Seriously. I must have looked pretty surprised because he started laughing. He mentioned he was filling in this morning. He normally only drives that route on Thursdays. The one thing I will say for the man, he's damn patient. An Asian woman got on near Meredith. She proudly announced to all of us several times that it was her first time riding the bus. I can only assume she meant first time ever in her life as she seems rather baffled by the process of paying for said bus ride. She couldn't figure out how to pay. Boyfriend seemed to sense we'd be there all day if he waited for her, so he told her to go sit down. She then thinks that this means bus virgins ride free. It took three people to convince her she had to pay. She is then confused as to how she is going to get to where she needs to go. She is going to Durham. Boyfriend says he'll show her which bus to take. She sits down next to the rack with the schedules, which she proceeded to tidy up. She pulls out the right schedule she needs for the second leg of her maiden voyage, but doesn't know how to read it. By this time, we've past the Park and Ride where The Other Amy got on. (Her work badge says IBM, but she wears a fleece jacket with the GoTriangle.org logo on it. I can't figure it out.) So, this Asian woman gets up and goes over to The Other Amy and asks for help. Amy was sitting quietly reading a book. I am not quite sure what it is about her, but she appears to exudes a "come hither" vibe to all the resident crazies. The Other Amy...Friend to all the animals. Amy gives her a crash course on reading schedules. During this exchange, Babushko is sitting next to me and is calling me the nicest lady of all. There's another woman behind me. She has that aura of someone with mental illness self medicating and trying to pass for a regular member of society. As usual, I had the headphones on. This woman barely taps me on the shoulder and asks me which bus can she take to go to Chapel Hill and ride around all day. She made it clear she didn't want to actually go to Chapel Hill, but rather ride around as long as possible. I told her I didn't know, because I really don't. She clarified what she wanted. I advised her I still didn't know. She then turns to The Other Amy for guidance. Once the Asian woman was settled in, she made a phone call. She covered her mouth and bottom of the phone with her hand like it was a secret. The funny thing is that I'm pretty sure she was speaking in Mandarin. Amy Number One was MIA today. I can't begin to imagine what she would have added to the mix.

When I go home, I went to visit my neighbor, Mary Jane. Mary Jane is 86, I think. She moved into Chez St Mary's on October 1, 1959. Eisenhower was in office, Alaska became a state, and there was much turmoil in Tibet. Barbie made her debut. Yours truly wouldn't make her debut for thirteen years and four days after Mary Jane moved in. As far as I know, she never married and never had children. She has a boatload of nieces and nephews. Nine exactly, who in turn collectively have 21 great nieces and nephews, who in turn collectively have 21 and a half great-great nieces and nephews for her. She showed me pictures. We talked. She has pictures of most of the residents of the building over the years. The guy who moved out of my apartment in November was a babe. She took my picture to add to the album. She is a really sweet lady. I need to visit her more often. She was close to my age when she moved in. I have to admit, there is a part of me that views her as The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come except nicer and worried if i go out after dark.