by BEN WOOSLEY

So I was reviewing the new Sound Transit site Andrew pointed out, and it reminded me of a thought I had earlier, which is loosely, and with tongue in cheek, that “everything bad is good.”  Specifically, the transit life includes a few attendant concerns which some would scoff at, but which I revel in.  For example, rarely I’m on a schedule or on the edge of a knife and it’s necessary for me to run to catch the bus.  Some would say “what trouble,” but I know I don’t run nearly enough, and every bit helps.  Then, and at the vast majority of times when I don’t have to run, I, like Sumit, very much appreciate my walks.

Likewise, someone with limited interests might be frustrated with 30 minutes or an hour of transit time, which would otherwise be consumed with focus on the bumper ahead of you, but I, like Pat and her “golden hours,” revel in it.  I haven’t come close to exhausting the different concerns I’d like to investigate.  For example, aside from reading I’ve been known to watch feature films in 20-30 minute increments. To me this is a treat: something which calls back to the days of the serial radio broadcasts, where instead of hearing “listen next week to find out…,” I get to wonder throughout the day what’s in store, until I return.

I definitely detected this seemingly optimistic attitude in the videos I saw: in Sumit’s walk, and in Pat’s “me time.”  Does this mean that transit is particularly fit for the optimists?  Or rather that, as Esther says, “We can make our lives as easy or as difficult as we want,” with us on the easy side (given our circumstances)?  For what it’s worth, the other Pat’s initial, temporary reticence, his concern before he knew enough to be won over, seems to support the latter.