10,000 Small Steps for Mankind, Part 4

• THOUGHTS AND AFTERTHOUGHTS
  
  When I sat down three weeks ago to write about walking to work, I thought I’d eke out a short blog. Now I’m on my fourth week and I still have so much to say.
  
  A major omission from last week was the bus stop at 7th and Bellflower that I pass every day just before I enter the grounds of the Veterans Administration Medical Center. It’s a major hub of bus systems from Long Beach and Orange County and a Passport shuttle bus stop too, so a broad mix of society can be found waiting for the bus any hour of the day. Disabled veterans in their souped-up wheelchairs, drowsy-looking hospital staff still in their scrubs, and intense looking students (most with iPod buds stuffed in their ears) all rub elbows here.
  
  The people don’t do much talking, but the bus does. The GPS systems are programmed now to announce the stop as the bus doors open, which can be a little disconcerting. The voice is authoritative and female and ever so slightly bored. Regularly, I get to take part in the group relay of yelling at a bus to get it to wait for a straggler. On cold winter mornings, the warm air from the buses’ vents is a welcome boost the body temperature.
  
  There’s usually an abandoned grocery cart or two hanging around, but generally the bus stop is well maintained. The benches, made of gleaming white metal tubing, snake around the sidewalk at odd angles. The awnings look like white sails in a strong wind, suspended tautly above the waiting crowd. Mass transit has always been a positive aspect of American cities to me. Getting a bunch of people to all move in the same direction in this day and age should be applauded, and the price is right too. It just seems so much more civilized than the bleats and beeps and other zoo noises I have to contend with in the snarl of traffic seething on 7th and Bellflower and PCH.
  
  Here are a few other random sights and encounters during my walks to work:
  
  ~A bag of oranges left at the edge of a lawn with this note attached – EAT ME!
  
  ~Discovering there’s a distinct pattern of which types of cars yield right of way to pedestrians and which don’t. Be very afraid, I know who you inconsiderate jerks are!
  
  ~A new type of urban art – stenciling. It’s kind of like graffiti, but more succinct. There’s a stencil of a guy with a cigarette in his mouth that shows up all over campus. My favorite says “You are beautiful.”
  
  ~The big doughnut on 7th! Long Beach’s contribution to 1950s gigantic ornamental architecture, it’s about 15 feet in diameter and currently painted with pink frosting.
  
  ~Sparkling beads of water miraculously suspended on the paper-thin petals of a tangerine-colored poppy.
  
  ~A glimpse of “The Beach” painted on the 10 story water tower overlooking the campus. Whoever the genius was who came up with calling CSULB “The Beach” deserves a major promotion. I think the new name has changed the sleepy commuter college into an energetic and innovative place to study.
  
  ~Weekly rituals of the neighborhood – the gi-normous trash bins huddled together like gossiping neighbors on trash day and the mad rush to move cars to the other side of the street on street sweeping day. The only time it’s okay to be seen in your jammies.
  
  ~Odd assortments of litter – a swizzle stick in the middle of the crosswalk on PCH, a paper clip attached neatly to a crumpled hamburger wrapper, and clumps of cigarette butts in the most unexpected places.
  
  ~Yelling directions across three lanes of traffic to a frantic driver who was late for a standardized test being held at CSULB
  
  ~Mysterious unmarked metal boxes planted in the sidewalk here and there that my engineer brother calls “street furniture.” They regulate something, but I’m not sure what. And then there’s the fantastic twisted mass of pipes and valves and junctures that emerges from the ground every now and then from all the underground gas piping system that average Joes like you and me never give much thought. And talking about unfathomables, what are all those weird lines and squiggles spray painted on the streets and sidewalks.
  
  I have a feeling I may return to this topic before long. It’s such a great opportunity to take some time to think, some time to breathe. Give it a try. Park your car about a mile or so from where you work and walk the rest of the way there. Rather than driving 50 miles up to the mountains for a hike in nature, save some time and some gas and discover the great outdoors that lies right outside your front door.