Tree Dying that Saved Man's Life

I've always liked the big tree at the bus stop on North Capitol Street at Adams Street NW. It provides shelter from rain, wind, sun and traffic while I'm waiting for that Route 80 bus that goes downtown.  The tree  also did its duty stopping a drunk driver going up on the sidewalk as the massive dent in the side of the tree shows. In fact I recall hearing the tremendous crash-boom when it happened a few years ago.  Some guy went out of control going southbound on North Capitol and smashed into the tree; his car was crushed when it slammed into this tree guarding the sidewalk. The driver mysteriously survived the impact -- probably quite drunk and relaxed so didn't resist as much so nothing "snapped" -- but I don't think the tree is going to last. The impact stripped off a big chunk of bark and over time rubbish and mold and critters and fungi have lodged in the dent and the tree will surely die faster than it was intended to. I doubt the guy whose life was saved by the tree appreciates what this creation did for him. But there's always the hope that somehow his life was changed by the tree's sacrifice.

Bus Rides in Summer

This morning, I got off the Route 80 bus at the bottom of North Capitol street to switch to the DC Circulator bus as the noise in the Route 80 bus was just too loud for me. Everyone was having extreme cell phone calls at 8:45 a.m. in the morning, telling off their kids or screaming at their spouses or demanding something from somebody or telling the dentist they were going to be late, or things like that. Plus the bus was crowded; even though I got a seat, I found myself jammed into an inside seat by a very large man who, of course, was yelling into his cell phone the whole time the bus meandered its way down North Capitol street from my street to the Post Office at the corner. And everyone was standing and lurching into one another at every stop and looking like they could bite someone if you looked at them the wrong way. At the Florida Avenue intersection a very drunk looking older guy was yelling at the bus waving his fist, looking already like he was over-heated and quite dehydrated. Even more people piled onto the bus so, feeling more than just slightly claustrophobic, I got off before the Massachusetts Avenue turn to transfer to a nice uncrowded Circulator bus which pulled up almost immediately. Since that's the beginning of that route, there were only three people on the bus and I got a wide seat all to myself. This lasted until 7th street when a huge crowd got on bringing gusts of hot August air in with them, turning the bus into another hot, human-filled metal container. But no one was making loud cell phone calls; instead they all seemed to have plugs in their ears attached to those IPod music things so they couldn't hear anybody and clearly didn't want to talk to anyone. The bus got caught in traffic and took ten minutes to go from 11th to 14th streets due to some tie-up involving an out-of-town car backing into moving traffic just to drive the rest of us crazy in the heat in the summer. Bus rides can be a humbling experience! Lord, get me through today!

Beer from a Sunbeam

Occasionally, and I mean occasionally, like maybe when it's really hot, I get a craving for a very cold beer and the best place for a single cold can of beer is the neighborhood Korean grocery on North Capitol street. Sunbeam is where I go for all the odd things I crave or need when I have forgotten to order something via Peapod, which is how I usually buy most groceries. So, the other day found me at Sunbeam, with son Joshua parked in his wheelchair outside the store, while I went in. The Americans With Disabilities Act hasn't been recognized at this corner grocery, like most of the little corner groceries in our neighborhood, so Joshua can't get in unless I heave his wheelchair up the one step. Which I can't do anymore as my back is giving out. Actually, he'd rather sit outside and watch the cars and trucks and buses whizzing by on North Capitol street while I dodge in for that really really cold can of malt beer or whatever it is I forgot. Sometimes it's a banana for Joshua's breakfast. You can buy one banana at a time at this store or a stick of butter if you forgot that and you really need it for pancakes for breakfast. The store also has an ATM but I'm a bit suspicious of such machines preferring instead to get cash from the bank directly. You can also buy lottery tickets there, but it's been a long time since I've felt really lucky since trusting in the Lord leads to better riches.