east west

the city of roses

as i was waiting for the bus on wednesday, it came towards me with "CITY OF ROSES" on its front electronic sign rather than "12 SANDY BLVD". i was happy to get on a bus bound for such a city, and gathered that most people boarding the bus would feel the same way. but, along came a women evidently without a bit of romanticism, and told the bus driver that it should say 12 SANDY BLVD, and he sheepishly changed the sign, as if he had made a mistake. but i think he meant to do it. and now he is among the ranks of my favorite trimet employees.

coming home (the same day), i sat beside the window, reading the willamette week. around 39th avenue, i finished and looked up. an all-american slightly-pudgy crew-cutted red-faced blonde boy was beside me. he was about ten. "it's a good day," he said. "oh yeah? why is it a good day?" he motioned to his paper bag: "'cause i got three new video games. my dad owed me twenty bucks and then gave me an extra ten, so i got Mega Man, Mortal Combat and Other Nebulous Yet Aggressive Sounding Game. i have 700 games. my brother and i both do. i've only beaten like, fifty of 'em though. my friend, he lives across the street, he's beaten like, a hundred games or something." hmmm. how to proceed with this conversation which i obviously know nothing about, and can only share the time when i was nine and had bronchitis and dad bought a nintendo and i played super mario 1 until my eyes were bloodshot.

"so um....is playing video games your favorite thing to do?"
"yup! it's pretty much all I do. sit on my butt, play video games, and eat cheesy pretzles."

what on earth. this sounds like something I would say about your generation - not something that you would say about yourself. so, do i impart my values on you, talk about how video games are how you cope with your loneliness and feelings of inadequacy, and you'll continue playing them until you're well into your twenties. and eventually when you're twenty-five or so, you'll come to realize that all along, you've dealt with your problems by escaping into the electronic world, and now when you try to find your way out and navigate through issues as an adult, you'll find that you have the coping mechanisms of a twelve-year old?

but instead, i respond, "hmm....i've never heard of cheesy pretzles - what are they?"

posted by jessica @ 8:58 PM