5 Will Get You...........

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, between 2 and 3. I know I have a car, but traffic in and out of New Brunswick is a disaster, and parking is worse. There's always the hospital's garage, but that's usually jammed. I prefer to take the bus. It leaves from Woodbridge Center every hour on the hour, and comes up from New Brunswick every hour on the hour. No muss, no fuss, and it only costs $2.25. I think I actually save money.

What I do is drive to Woodbridge Center, and park there. Since I hate to be late, and I'm always afraid something will cause a bus to be cancelled, I always get there early. Tuesday, I got there around 10:15 for the 11 o'clock bus. I parked behind the strip where the buses pull in, and where the 3 shelters are. (There are 3 buses that actually stop here. The 810 goes straight to New Brunswick, so I get on the first stop and get off the last, and it takes about an hour. The 815 also goes to New Brunswick, but it meanders through Perth Amboy, South River, and a few other small cities, takes an hour and a half, and costs $3.35. The 62 goes to Newark, and since I have no desire to go there, that's all I know about it.)

Since I was early, I decided to walk around a little in the mall. As I passed the shelters, I noticed that there was an older woman waiting in the middle one. I don't think they're set up for the specific buses so I didn't know where she was going, nor did I care. I wandered through the mall, then exited through Sears to wait at the shelters. As I walked over, I noticed that the woman was still there. She sat still, with her head down, as if thinking on something.

I looked around. No cars moving in or out, no people walking. I kept closing the distance. Kept checking around, as carefully as I could. My timing must've been great. The mall had been open for a while, and it was too early for the lunch crowd so things seem to have settled down. As I got nearer, I took out the Flasher. Since I was going to the hospital, I had my shoulder bag with me, to carry down my paper work, and a few things to occupy my time when I'm there (you always have to wait). I came up to her, resting the Flasher on the top of the bag. Point, press, Flash, and no discernible change to her position. I moved past and sat in the last shelter on the strip.

For the next 15 minutes, I watched the other 2 buses stop, and unload passengers, then load up and leave. No one paid the woman any mind. A couple of younger women even sat in the same shelter as the older woman and didn't react at all, as far as I could see. They just continued to talk to each other until the 810 showed up. I got on right after the 2 women, and as we pulled away, I saw the that the old woman was still there. She wasn't going to be going anywhere any time soon.

By the time I got home, I had heard from Doyle three times. The Event had been put under review since they weren't sure that the women hadn't been dead before I used the Flasher. They ultimately decided to confirm it, and I'm almost to the half-way mark. The doctor's visit went well, also.

Random Thoughts...

Doyle says I'm on track. The whole 12 Events in 6 Months thing. So far I've done 4 in 2 months, so I guess he's right. He's also right that I'm gonna have to rethink how I've been doing things. This last weekend was lousy, weather wise, and even though I was out, no one else was. At least, no one else was out mowing, or walking, or soaking up the sun alone in their yard. Winter's coming on, and good weather is going to be at a premium, so I'm gonna have to pick up the pace or change my ways. Thank God I now have the car. It makes getting around so much easier, and widens my target area.

Anyway, this weekend was a washout, no pun intended. I had the time to catch up on my reading, and do some soul searching. You know, why am I here, why am I doing this? Stuff like that. It didn't take long, because basically I don't waste my time on that kinda thinking. Maybe it's because of the transplant - I understand they cut the nerves when they took out the old heart so I'm not supposed to feel anything in there - or maybe it's upbringing, nature versus nurture stuff. I don't know, and I don't much care to ponder on it. I'm of the Popeye school of philosophy - "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam". That pretty much says it. Take me as I am, warts, Events, and all. I do what I do to make sure no one does it to me or mine. No questions, no regrets.

A couple of things I did think about ......

I was out driving on Thursday along Routes 1 and 9 and I saw a pickup truck with a sign that said "One room painted free with every job" and I thought "What if you only wanted one room painted?"

I was coming up from Monmouth County on Route 35 on Monday when I saw a billboard. It was an accident scene with a smashed up car, emergency vehicles, flashing lights and the caption "We Can Help". Then I saw that the advertisers was a law firm and I wondered who it was they would be helping. The person who caused the accident, maybe the uninsured driver? It was like the latest version of ambulance chasing. Also, it's placed at a point in the road where it passed below another road, then turns sharply right. Just the place to distract someone and cause an accident. Trolling for clients?

Anyway, just some random thoughts. Got a doctor's appointment this afternoon. Time to start preparing for whatever I'll need to do on my 1 year anniversary.

Thanks 4 the Memories....

Yesterday was beautiful. It may be that I now have more time to "stop and smell the roses" or it may be that having come close to dying, I appreciate life more, but yesterday was beautiful. I was up in Avenel, and decided to walk around a little.

Autumn in New York is supposed to be terrific, but give me New Jersey any time besides, I don't have to pay that humongous toll. Here it's a bunch of small towns that make up one large municipality, and each town has its own charm. Walking up and down the streets, breathing that fresh, crisp air, is a great experience, and good cardio. My doctors would be proud.

I'd ambled up and down Remsen and Prospect, and was on Demorest. I figured to stroll on down to St. George, then up to McDonald's for breakfast. The colors were just beginning to show, and the trees were starting to look real nice. That's when I saw her.

She was an old woman, out in front of her house. Looked like she was planting or weeding along her walkway. Indian, Pakistani, or some such. I took the Flasher from my pocket, and started checking out the area. I didn't see anyone else, and there were no cars coming or going. I constantly watched as I got closed. Definitely weeding. Looks like she'd planted some mums, and was cleaning up around them. Down on her knees, working away. I came up to her, checked the area. Nothing and no one. Point, push, flash. She folded over and lay on the lawn, as I went by. A few minutes later, I'd turned the corner towards McDonald's. I figured I'd get the confirm on number 4 as I was eating. Should I get the Big Breakfast?