Post # 2 (aka good vibes bad vibes)

This evening, I went to the Portland Alternative Energy and Global Warming Meetup Group. There were six of us, all together, and we talked about why we were there and what we could do, etc. It went well.

On the way home, I was standing at a bus stop waiting for the bus to come. I was passing time by reading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. You should read it, especially if you're having some trouble figuring this life thing out. Anyway, this guy comes walking down the hill and, as he passes me, he says "What's the word?" I say "It's a beautiful evening." He asks me again and I say the same thing. He shakes his head and asks me again. This time, I say "Love." This earns a smile and a handshake. I tell him a little about the book I'm reading and he pulls out a book and says that I should read it. I look at it and see that it is The World's Wisdom by Philip Novak. He tells me to keep it and we talk for a little bit. It turns out that his name is Erick and he is originally from New Mexico, though he has spent most of his life in Portland, or P-Town, as he calls it. I could smell alcohol on his breath and I guess he had been up in the West Hills looking at Portland. We shake hands a couple times and knock knuckles and all that. I try to find something to give him in return, but he tells me not to worry about it. We settle upon a hug. Then he continues down the street saying he's going to "spread the love." This made me feel good about the world and all that. I've been reading a lot of books to try and get myself to think more positively and just as I'm nearing the end of my last book, another falls into my possession. Pretty cool.

A little after he moves on, the bus comes. At the next stop, there are a lot of people waiting to get on, Erick being one of them. A couple get on, then there is some sort of holdup. I'm not sure what happened, but a man tried to get on with a guide dog and there was some sort of problem. The bus driver calls the police and shuts down the bus. he starts ranting about having Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome and swears at his friends until they get back off the bus. Erick watches this and eventually continues on down the street, apparently opting to forgo the bus. The rant continues and he focuses his attention on me. He points at me and says something about me 'making him sick.' A guy in front of me asks if he's referring to him and the man clarifies that it is the 'puke' behind him. Apparently, he is 'old enough to be my uncle.' At this point I stopped paying attention and he continued saying stuff until he decided to get off the bus so we could continue on our way.

It's weird how two different people can latch onto you randomly and have two completely different vibes. Both of them were drunk, I'm pretty sure. One was a happy drunk, the other was an angry drunk. Both directed their feelings towards me. Weird.

But hey, I'm home now, and I've got a new book to read after this one, and hopefully it too will inspire me in some way and push me along the path towards straightening my life out in this crazy town they call Portland.