grace in unusual places

this morning i was running late despite my best efforts which included packing my lunch and laying out my clothes last night.

my morning routine consists of waking up, turning the ceiling fan on in the kitchen (so the steam from my shower doesn't set off the fire alarm-becuase it does), jumping in the shower, getting dressed, doing my hair, and running out of the house, all of this has to be done before 7:01 in the morning. any later than that and i miss the bus. luckily, my route has a safety-net built into it, so if i miss the first stop 1.5 blocks from my house, i can run 4.5 blocks to the another stop in time to catch the bus there by 7:10.

since my hair cut, i 've missed the first stop 3 or 4 times. so anyway, this morning as i stepped onto my driveway from my porch i saw the bus pass the stop. my heart sank. and then out of nowhere the bus driver pulled over and stopped right in front of my house and let me on the bus.

this is a huge deal becuase just weeks earlier this same bus driver yelled at me for flagging him down in between stops when I almost missed him at the 2nd stop - i was desparate, which still does not excuse my behavior, i should just be on time...but we all have our days right?!?!

i've found myself thinking about all of the grace that happens on the bus or at Eugene Station, and if you knew the place, you would know that it might be the last place on earth where you would find grace.

last week on a very crowded bus a teenage guy gave up his seat to an elderly woman without even being asked.

the week before that a guy got on the bus but couldn't afford the fare, so the man that sits behind me everyday paid for the guy's day pass - an even $3.00.

at Eugene Station a woman comes around every morning and collects all of the empty cans and bottles out of the trashcans and turns them in for the deposit - her only income, 5 cents a piece - and the store owners at the station allow her to trade in more than the daily limit, knowing if they turn her away she may not eat that day.

so, for a place i rarely go after dark, there is an unusual amount of grace to be found.