23 January 2002
Today started slightly damp and cloudy, with promises of more rain and stiff winds, so I decided to forego the bike commute. Bad idea. Cycling takes ~25 minutes (from locking the apartment to unlocking the office door), even without flouting the law; transit typically takes about 30 minutes. Today, I just missed a bus, only to have a pair of buses roll up 5 minutes late, then couldn’t board the first train that rolled by, since standees tend to crowd near the doors and block entry for those trying to board close to downtown. In the end, it took 50 minutes. The day was brightened by the motorman on Blue Line run 105 (?), who proclaimed his train “the happy train,” wished all aboard a pleasant day, and asked passengers to cooperate in getting people aboard – “we’re all in this together.” Thank you.

Speaking of biking to work, one of these days I’ll have to check out the little cluster of Italian shops at Grand and Noble that I’ve been riding by all these months.