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Throwback Thursday: TWERK

It looks like I've been twerking for a long long time.

Miley ain't got nothin' on me.

Until We Got To Melrose...

Yesterday I caught a southbound bus on Fairfax at Santa Monica Blvd.

I sat next to a sweet-looking old lady - I'd say she was in her her 80's.

The bus was on the less crowded side and quite pleasant.

That is until we got to Melrose...

Fairfax High had just let out for the day and as we pulled up there must

have been 100 teenage kids waiting for the bus.

The old lady sighed heavily and then offered an apt outburst,

"Ooooooh shit."

I'm These Two's Mom

Mural at Spring & 6th Downtown.

This morning I was up early and needed to take the bus across town.

It turns out the stop at Sunset & Fairfax is a tween girls school stop at 7am.

I can't remember the last time I saw a yellow school bus.

Or a bunch of girls in school uniforms. Anyway...

As the girls were boarding one of the moms introduced herself to the driver,

"I'm these two's mom. Please let me know if they are any trouble."

He nodded, "Nice to meet you and I'm sure there won't be a problem."

Then she turned on him, "Oh and... They will also be watching you too.

So no talking on the phone or texting. Or crazy driving."

Having made herself heard she thanked him and walked away.

Totally embarrassed, one of the two girls said to the driver,

"We're soooooo sorry about. You won't have to worry about us."

The driver smiled broadly, "No problem. Your mom's cool."

I Don't Speak Australian

Wednesday of last week while I was waiting at the bus stop for the trusty Sunset Blvd line a guy came up to the other person waiting for the bus and asked him a question in a thick Aussie accent, "Do you know where the bus stop is for the tour bus?"

The guy looked completely baffled and asked, "What?"

The Aussie repeated himself and the confused look on the guys face didn't change so I interrupted and pointed the Aussie in the right direction.

After he left the confused guy asked, "You could understand him?"

I replied, "Yea."

He continued, "You must be good with foreign languages."

It was my turn to look puzzled, "He was Australian."

He said in all seriousness, "I don't speak Australian. I speak American."

I tilted my head and furrowed my brow a bit, "You mean English."

He shook his head, "I'm not from England."

Thankfully the bus approached and I let this odd exchange expire.

The very next day at the very same bus stop that very same guy walked by me. He got about 10 feet past me and turned around, "Oh. You're the guy from yesterday who can speak Australian."

I nodded, "Again, it was English."

He shrugged and then we proceeded to have a short chat before the bus appeared in the distance. I couldn't tell if he was actually waiting for the bus or not so I asked in a way to end the converstaion, "Are you waiting for the bus?"

He replied, "I'll catch a later one. I'm gonna go browse around the Hustler Store first."

With that he turned and walked on as I boarded.

From my seat on the bus I immediately shared the Hustler Store part of this story on Facebook and my two favorite comments were quick and apt. Chris wrote, "Hardcore, since 1974." While Jodi proclaimed, "There ain't no shame in his game."

Happy Birthday Old Gal

I see this old gal a couple times a month at the bus stop.

As I have mentioned before I always make time for her.

I saw her last Wednesday and as we waited for the bus she told me,

"You know, Saturday is my birthday."

I said, "That's great." Then I asked her, "How old will you be?"

She replied proudly, "I'll be 74."

I smiled and said, "Oh, may I give you a birthday hug?"

She cooed, "Of course!"

After the embrace she looked to be pondering then nodded,

"You know, I think that was the first hug I've had all year."

I teared-up a little as I considered this unimaginable and said,

"Well then, I think I need to give you another hug."

As I squeezed her I could feel her body appreciate the affection.

And not long after Gf poked out of her travel bag to give her a kiss.

As we sat next to one another on the bus she told me a bad joke.

Something about an owl with the punchline: who who.

Of course I favored her with a well-intentioned courtesy laugh.

As I departed I said, "If I don't see you have a happy birthday."

She smiled broadly and thanked me.

As I walked home I made this easy-to-fulfill promise to myself...

I will hug her each and every time we meet.

Hopefully by the year-end we'll get her hugs into double-digits.