Travel Journal, 91
Seattle Bus Ride
I hear it all the time:
“It rains constantly in Seattle.”
But each time I go there, the sun shines. Apparently, they get something over 150 days of rain a year. But is that all day? Or just part of the day. I don’t know. Sure, the city lies on the coast in a very temperate zone. It’s almost like a North American version of Barcelona, Spain, just not as hot. But though they tons of rain, it’s worth a visit. And all political and social strife you might see on the news can’t change the fact that this is coffee Mecca, and that the Pike Place Market has outrageous fish and chips.
But I wasn’t there for the food, coffee, meteorology, or sociopolitical lesson. I simply missed my flight. But a missed flight is nothing to complain about when it gets you a 24-hour stopover in a place like Seattle.
So here I was, sitting on a bus near the Space Needle. At that moment I turned and looked down to my backpack. Something seemed amiss. The side pocket looked baren. And in fact, it was. Suddenly a cold sweat developed and I began frantically looking around my seat and on the floor.
Where was he?!
Panicked, I say out loud, “Roary?”
The person sitting next to me cast me a concerned and embarrassed look. But I don’t pay him any attention.
And at this point, you may need an explanation. For the past several years, I have carried a small, rubber and plastic dinosaur—a t-rex to be exact.
His name is Roary—you know, because he’s a dinosaur and he, well, roars.
He rides in the side pocket of my backpack and I take him out at various locales around the world for less-than-ordinary photo opportunities. And it has gotten me concerned looks from concerned citizens on multiple occasions. While I have never declared or claimed even a modicum of mental stability, I promise, it’s harmless.
At least, that’s what I thought until I looked around my seat on a Seattle bus and couldn’t find Roary anywhere. Perhaps this attachment isn’t healthy after all. I tell myself that I will have time to get a psych evaluation later, I have to find my green little friend! I fear that I left him at a coffee shop. Travel would not be the same without him.
Roary has traveled far and wide. He has been to five continents, almost 20 countries, and every State in the Union. And I’ve apparently betrayed him, forgetting him on a dirty table in a dirty coffee shop while I sipped a latte. How could I?
I was actually nearing the shedding of tears when I grabbed my backpack. I stepped off the bus and slung the bag over my shoulder. Just then I happened to see what I had missed.
I have two side pockets in my backpack; one on the left and the other on the right. I usually let Roary ride around in the left pocket. But today, I must have put him in the right pocket.
“Roary!” I cried out loud (with people all around me).
“There you are! I’ve been worried sick.”
Reunited, I promised to take better care of him. And I don’t think there were too many hard feelings. At least, he’s never said anything about it.
anthony forrest
This made me chuckle. If you were talking to yourself on the bus they probably thought you were a local.
My girlfriend and I took a stuffed toy pekinese with us to China and took pictures of it at various places. On our return we created a picture/story book “Ming’s trip to China” and sent it to her sister who rescues pekinese and also has show dogs! It was a big hit. We did receive some mighty strange looks from the locals.
That’s awesome! We really like to bring Roary with us because it gives up a fun objective for the trip. Also, we would love to visit China someday. But international travel seems to be in the far in our future.