When the going gets tough, the tough just walk!

RantWoman presents Shooting aboard a bus as events collided with the RantFamily.

RantWoman directs her readers' attention to news video of Press conference re Monday's shooting aboard a Metro bus in downtown Seattle


http://youtu.be/9aDfg4s9ULk

Invoke prayers, deep appreciation for bus drivers, deep appreciation for amazing reservoirs of coping displayed daily by drivers, passengers, all concerned regard Metro buses.

Invoke an extra measure of care and support for drivers because even when it's a horrible day for drivers, bus stops still need to get called and doing the basics is plenty to focus on!
Invoke particular care for people living with mental illness, substance abuse, poverty frustration.

Invoke umbrella of humanity's best strivings and yearnings to cover everyone getting here and there every day.

Invoke, um, what exactly on behalf of the RantFamily:

RantWoman allows a very limited subset of her maniacally miscellaneous tweet stream all the way through to her not very smart phone. So maybe RantWoman is supposed to feel lucky to have seen even one tweet about a shooting aboard a Metro bus in downtown Seattle.

RantWoman saw the tweet and had no time to follow up. RantWoman knows the tweeter rides the 41 bus home and the tweet mentioned a shooting right outside the tweeter's office. RantWoman did not immediately register that would probably mean downtown.

RantWoman ran 1 errand, hoping energy would perk up for some other errands. Then RantWoman headed to Light Rail. Light Rail was SRO; two people riding the same places as RantWoman were a deaf-blind guy and his interpreter. Anyway RantWoman missed two calls from Little Sister. Only when RantWoman was at 5th and Jackson awaiting her first choice for northbound travel did RantWoman call little sister back.

Keep in mind there is construction mess all over Jackson street because of installing tracks for another streetcar. There were chopper noises. There were firement from some kind of situation on the corner. But at least RantWoman reached Little Sister. The conversation subtracted more than bare minimum courtesies really fast: where was the shooting? Do you know anything more than that?

RantWoman realized she could add the @SeattlePD tweets to her not very smart phone tweet stream. RantWoman decided that trying to go N on 3rd avenue around 11:00 was a fool's errand. RantWoman immediately rerouted herself to the 41 out of the tunnel. RantWoman thanks an agitated off duty bus driver and someone in a safety vest for further somewhat nerve-jangling conversation on the 41; RantWoman also thanks that duo for getting off before the bus left downtown. The off-duty driver was headed to work and RantWoman hopes his passengers were especially supportive because he sounded like he needed it.

The call with Little Sister was brief because Little Sister and RantMom had just rendezvoused and had Things They Needed to Attend To. And where had RantMom been prior to her rendezvous with Little Sister?

Home watching events unfold on her miraculous new flat screen television which a wonderful gentleman buddy from her church drove her to Best Buy for AND came backe and helped her set up?

Home learning how to use her new iPhone?

Home transacting commerce via the miracles of home internet?

Um, Nope. None of those.

RantMom is an early riser. RantMom was on a mission, a majorly maternal mission. RantMom's task: purchase a bus ticket for ... drum roll please...RantBrother to come to Seattle from Denver! RantMom needed to do this without consulting the RantSisters because, well, because....

RantMom is allergic to the idea of typing her credit card number into an internet form. RantWoman has used the very internet form needed and knows it works but this was a transaction RantMom only told RantWoman about long AFTER it finally got accomplished in person at the Greyhound station. And this was after RantMom spent AN HOUR on her land line via her cordless phone with some kind of faltering battery, an HOUR in a phone queue only to learn that apparently you cannot buy a bus ticket over the phone anymore and RantMom would need to get herself to the Greyhound station!

RantMom immediately got herself on a bus downtown; her bus arrived at the S end of a bus logjam on Third Avenue VERY shortly after the shooting. RantWoman is unsure how RantMom learned of what was ahead of her. Remember, RantMom was on her majorly maternal mission. When RantMom realized the bus was likely to be stuck for awhile, RantMom decided to hoof it and set out to walk and to walk a distance somewhat longer than RantMom these days usually undertakes willingly! RantMom did intersect with some bus route that got her tolerably close to Greyhound but still involved a walk and backtracking. By the end of the day, RantMom felt well-exercised.

RantMom stood in line at the Greyhound station. RantMom accomplished the desired transaction including the option for RantBrother to pick up the ticket in Denver. Then RantMom set out to rendezvous with Little Sister. Only after half their errands, while they were sipping coffee at Starbucks did RantMom explain the scope, scale and nature of her exercise course downtown in the middle of a shooting scene.

Note to world by way of putting the shooting aboard the bus into perspective: at the end of the day, the shooter is now deceased, dead of police gunshot wounds, the bus driver has been treated and released from the hospital. Basically, while the bus shooting investigation continues, the RantSisters are even more rattled by the thought of RantMom's trek than they are by the impending arrival of RantBrother. But we are relieved that we have a reprieve until Wednesday. If you pray, pray for us all!

Finally, after intersecting with multiple further points under construction, after a ride where no stops got called for miles, RantWoman made it to Fremont to the office of her own mental health provider.

Did peace and calm reign thenceforth?

Um no.

Turns out, mental health provider rides the same route where the shooting occurred; today she rode a different time. So much for any further RantWoman effort to remain detached! The rest of RantWoman's traumas will just have to wait.

And meanwhile, RantBrother will be in town to ensure a steady supply of, um, challenging people aboard Metro. Bless you RantMom; Bless us all.