"Things Change" 

All you have to do is wait.

It's quiet here at the B&B tonight. Almost too quiet. It was quiet last night, too. Being alone can be scary, if you let it.

I'm staying in what is called the "Spy House" because it was the apartment house where David Greenglass lived with his wife Ruth before he turned over the files for the Atomic Bomb to the Soviets.

The maids came to clean up after the wedding party today and left the door to the room across the hall from mine open. I'm glad I'm not staying in there. I think it's haunted. At the least, it's creepy.

See? I was sure there would be a ghost.



 

But, it's really just my over-active imagination. :-)

 

I've been taking the bus to get from my lodgings to the yoga studio every day. Using public transportation can really help put life in perspective. If you are ever feeling sorry for yourself, hop on a bus. I guarantee there will be someone on there less fortunate than you; probably a whole bus full of them.

On the first night that I got on the bus, it was bitter cold. The bus driver told me the fare was $1 one-way or, for $2, I could ride all night. I paid my dollar, naively wondering to myself why I would want to "ride all night." Then I looked around the bus. People were sleeping. It was warm. Riding all night didn't seem so silly.

Yesterday, I talked to a homeless veteran who had nearly died from an infection he got from removing a fingernail using less-than-hygienic means after he had slammed his thumb in a door. He showed me the lines that were still running from his thumb up his arm. He was on his way to get it looked at again. He said he felt fine now, but the doctor at the VA wanted him to come back to make sure, and he had nothing better to do.

This morning I struck up a conversation with a lady who had come to Albuquerque looking for work. She had left behind her three children with her mother. She showed me their picture on her beat-up phone. We talked about how hard it was to leave your kids. She said she had tried to give blood at the plasma center for money, but they wouldn't let her since her drivers license was expired. I asked her how much she needed to take care of that and gave her the twenty I had in my pocket. When the bus came, I saw she was crying.

 

This is the season to be thankful.

I'm thankful that I have a warm place to sleep, that I'm healthy, and that my kids are safe.