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One Last Story (Video)

7/2/2020

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Well, here we are. I started this blogging journey eight years ago today with this piece. On March 1 of this year I detailed why I'm changing gears, here. And today I've got this treat for you– a video explaining what you can expect next from me, along with a story of the passenger who's impacted me the most over the course of my career, and not in ways I could have anticipated.

Thank you all so much for your enthusiastic support of my enthusiasm! Through all these years and moving forward, as I continue with new projects (which I'll keep you abreast of with this blog, along with, I'm sure, the occasional story). Without your support the burgeoning art, writing and film careers of mine wouldn't be happening. Thank you. No words are adequate.

Enjoy the video!

New to the site? This blog is 1,200 plus true stories of strangers being kind to each other on city buses I've driven. Click here for an index of the final 57 stories, plus highlights from the blog's earlier years.
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The Final Flurry: Index

7/1/2020

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For eight years, I posted a few times a week. But for the last two months, I wanted something appropriately climactic, and dug deep into my notes for about one new story per day. Here's the resulting final lineup. They're presented in a narrative order building to a climax; feel free to enjoy it in sequence or pick and choose. Many of these were never posted to social media and will read as new. Enjoy!

(New to the site? This blog is 1,200 plus true stories of strangers being kind to each other on city buses I've driven. For a selection of highlights from 2018, click here. For earlier highlights, click here for the "Nathan Vass 101" crash course or explore the sidebar at right.)


  1. 5/1. Bravado. Charles reveals his vulnerability, and tries to cover it up. On the conflict between masculinity and sensitivity.
  2. 5/2. Nathan Interviewed by TransitCenter. TransitCenter's Kapish Singla interviews Nathan from New York on viruses, microns, passengers, his book, and more. Audio and transcript.
  3. 5/4. Talking it Out, Together. A young black man muses on being verbally assaulted by a white woman in, oddly, his home turf of Rainier Valley.
  4. 5/5. Go Forth. A man recently released from jail is unable to hide his happiness.
  5. 5/6. Freedom From. An elderly female passenger reflects on Third and Pike. On how America can look to outsiders.
  6. 5/7. Nathan Vass: NRFF Artist of the Month (Interview). Anya Patel gives perhaps the most thoughtful, organized, and deep-researched interview I've ever had the pleasure of receiving. Complete with links and videos on me which she compiled.
  7. 5/9. Helpers in the Night. A female passenger, a sherriff, and a fancy couple all behave very differently from how we might assume.
  8. 5/11. The Wave Has Landed. Fourth-Wave feminism has landed– even in the 'hood. Here's what it sounds like.
  9. 5/12. She Strong. A man praises his mother, unknown to most of the world, for her remarkable quality.
  10. 5/13. Zen and the Art of Driving the 7. This job is above all a test of the mind. Some thoughts on how to think when driving the 7.
  11. 5/14. Slow Healer. On processing trauma, restoring confidence, and functioning on the job after receiving life's blows.
  12. 5/15. For Night Operators: Tips on Sleepers. It's a more complicated issue than it seems.
  13. 5/16. How to Drive the 7, Pt I of IV: 7S, Jackson to Henderson. Everything you'd want to know. This post includes suggestions on waiting for runners, resetting poles, and the Henderson layover.
  14. 5/17. How to Drive the 7, Pt II of IV: 7N, Henderson to Pike. This one includes material on both types of skip-stopping, including coach placement for every block of northbound Third.
  15. 5/20. How to Drive the 7, Pt III of IV: Route 49 Northbound. Includes Nathan on Ubers and lyfts, plus how to cross the University Bridge.
  16. 5/23. How to Drive the 7, Pt IV of IV: Route 49 Southbound. Includes coach positioning for every block of southbound Third.
  17. 5/24. How to Drive the 7: The Complete Care Package. Everything I can offer from my own personal experience– the driving directions above, tips on fights, sleepers, assaults, fear, morale, and more.
  18. 5/25. Eric, Fully, II: John. Quick moment with a fellow I totally thought was named Eric.
  19. 5/28. Vern One. Vern makes me happy. We discuss mortality without saying it out loud, and touch on its salve.
  20. 5/29. Name Caller: Final Edition. People call me all sorts of things. here's a list of favorites.
  21. 5/31. The United States of Floyd. Nathan on everything George Floyd.
  22. 6/3. CJ Rising. I see a young man I never thought I'd see again– and in far better shape.
  23. 6/4. Our Lady of Context. The first of three conversations with a niqab-clad friendly spirit.
  24. 6/5. The Good Neighbor. Sometimes people help out for no other reason than that it's part of who they are.
  25. 6/6. Nathan Converses With His Colleagues: VII. Nathan and Thomas being silly in the wee hours.
  26. 6/7. Friends and Strangers and Friends. It pays to be nice to everyone; you never quite know who you're talking to.
  27. 6/9. About the Gesture. A gesture of respect from two south-end teens.
  28. 6/11. Late-Night Glimpses. A collection of brief memories from late-night driving.
  29. 6/12. Sunset (Napszállta): a Reappraisal. One of the best films of 2018-9, and no one knows about it. This might be the only in-depth scholarly rave of Sunset online. With 3,800 words and 29 images.
  30. 6/14. Pacing to a New Beat. A youngster on the 5 gets invigorated.
  31. 6/15. Our Lady of Miracles. The woman from the 6/4 story shows up again with great news.
  32. 6/16. More Film, More Book! Updates on Men I Trust landing notices on the festival circuit, and The Lines That Make Us getting selected as Redmond Library's, Microsoft's, and the City of Redmond's single title for their Summer Reading Program.
  33. 6/18. Redmond Summer Reading Program: Meet the Author (Video). Nathan interviewed on why he wrote The Lines That Make Us.
  34. 6/22. In the Before. A humorous moment on the 5 inspires thoughts on time's linearity.
  35. 6/23. Nathan Converses With His Colleagues: About That 65. It's every North Base operator's least favorite route– and not because of the routing, people, neighborhood, or coach type.
  36. 6/24. Our Lady III: Lows and Highs. A final moment with our friend from 6/4 and 6/15.
  37. 6/24. To Thrive, Meanwhile. A young father and I confront his recent diabetes diagnosis.
  38. 6/24. The Righteous Hustle. John insisted on a trial, and it paid off.
  39. 6/25. The Light (Lamlam 1). This conversation is based on notes I took down in 2014. Only now have I figured out how to write about it.
  40. 6/26. MOHAI's History Cafe: Nathan Vass on Generationally Specific Behavioral Shifts in Communication (Video). My February 2020 lecture on video, with Q&A and source list.
  41. 6/27. She's on Fire. I find things to admire in a loudmouthed, angry, profane woman who tells it like it is.
  42. 6/27. The Barista. A former passenger makes my day after I tell her of my appearance in Seattle Magazine's 2018 List.
  43. 6/27. Lessons Learned on the 5. Some things I've mellowed out on.
  44. 6/28. Just the Two of Us, Gruffly. Sometimes manly men open up with each other, become vulnerable, and recognize sensitivity. Don't you love it when that happens?
  45. 6/28. Nathan Converses With His Colleagues, Part VIII. I talk with one of the happiest drivers about one of the unhappiest drivers.
  46. 6/28. It's Called Working. Bus drivers behaving badly, and what we as operators can do about it.
  47. 6/28. The Friendly 5. We make the 5 feel like a communcal living room.
  48. 6/28. Burning. There's no other film like Lee Chang-Dong's masterpiece, which ought to have taken the Palme d'or in 2018.
  49. 6/29. Why So Serious?? A hilariously harsh critique of the pimp-roll swagger, from a perhaps unexpected source.
  50. 6/29. Vern Two. Our friend from 5/28 gets a wave, and this young man doesn't laugh me out of town for it. Quite the opposite!
  51. 6/29. In Napoli. Making each other feel loved on the other side of the world.
  52. 6/29. Curae Aude. Dare to Care! On black lives in 2020, and how others doing well benefits rather than detracts from our own welfare.
  53. 6/29. Lamlam 2. Isn't she wonderful? We met her in the 6/25 post. Here she is again, six years later.
  54. 6/30. Yes, I’ve Been Assaulted. The big question is how to think about it afterwards.
  55. 6/30. Ed, Remembered. This one's for you, Patricia. The impact people can have on us.
  56. 6/30. Felt From a Distance. Being grateful for moments across a career I hope I still remember in old age.
  57. 6/30. One Final Story (VIDEO). I pour my heart and mind out in this 29-minute story of a passenger who taught me more than I ever expected.
 
  • And, from 3/1, the announcement of the blog's transition and detailed explanation for why all of this is happening: Expansion (or Why I'm "Ending" the Blog).
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    -What is this blog? Check out the explanatory first post, or read the  front-page Seattle Times writeup here! 

    Here's a one-page crash course with links and highlights: Nathan Vass 101

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    -For New Bus Drivers: Thoughts, Tips, and Stories
    -How to Drive the 7: The Complete Care Package

    Popular posts:

    Only have time for one story? Try these. 
    -The Day The Earth Stood Still
    -Le Park de Cal Anderson
    -
    21st Century Man
    -One Last Story (Video)
    ​
    -Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Great & Terrible 358
    -I'M A LIGHT-SKINNED BLACK WOMAN!
    -The Final Flurry: Index
    ​
    -Scroll down on this sidebar to "On the Street," below, for more highlights~

    Personal:
    -International Examiner Interview (Plus a word to my fellow Hapas!)
    -
    Full (Redmond) Circle (includes event gratitude writeup index)
    -Surviving the Social Desert: Nathan on High School
    -With What Time We Have
    -My Seattle
    -On Second Acts
    -Yves Klein, Color of the Heavens
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    ​-Popular Posts from 2018, with Commentary
    -Nathan Vass, 2019 Washington State Book Award Finalist
    -Nathan on the Elliott Bay event: Parts I, II, and III
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    -How I Live Now
    -Escaping the Overlords: Nathan on Comcast
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    -I Am Now Ten Years Old
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    -Paris, One Year Later: A Personal Perspective
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    -The Birthday That Almost Never Happened
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    -Nathan Takes a Day Off:
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    Part 2 (Nathan Gets Excited); 
    Part 3 (Nathan Sounds Like Morgan Freeman)
    -Rad(iation) City
    -La La Land & What Los Angeles Means
    -Reparations
    -Names Nathan gets called! A list in three parts: 1, 2, 3
    -Where and How it All Began
    -How I Write the Posts, and Why
    -Chaleur Humaine
    -A Story
    -What Not to Say​
    -In Praise of Silver Hair
    -You're Been a Good Friend of Mine
    -...And a Splendid New Year!
    -Nathan Converses With His Colleagues: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... and 65

    Political:
    -What's In a Number (Trump's legacy)
    -Praise Island (Biden's win)
    -The United States of Floyd
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    -Understanding Love & Hate During Trump Nation
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    ​-What We Did, Today
    -This Story Has Nothing to do With Donald Trump
    -Don't Be Scared of My Friends, Part I
    -Don't Be Scared of My Friends, Part II
    -The Music Isn't Dead (Yet)
    -Nathan Actually Talks Politics, Pt III: Keeping the Music Alive
    -Pulling Our Weight, Part II: Addressing the Homeless Laziness Question
    -Getting Some Diversity Off My Chest
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    -The Veterans
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    -Be at Peace, Mr. Garner. We Will Love the World For You
    -The Streets Regard Ferguson
    -How do You Change the World? Thoughts on Violence
    -Cowboys of the New Age: Status & Respect in the American Ghetto
    -A Boy Named Hamza: Thoughts on Hate in Three Parts 
    -It Used to Sound Like This

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    -Trois Objets 1: on Michael Mann's Heat
    -Trois objets 2: On Antonello da Messina's Annunciate Virgin
    -Trois Objets 3: On East of Eden
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    -Nathan on Seattle's Waterfront: Before and After
    ​-Nathan's Films of 2019: Top 2 Plus 23 Runners Up (photos, trailers, analysis & more)
    -Once Upon a Time... in Dreams: On Tarantino, Violence, and Transcendence
    -On Finishing Men I Trust
    -The Lie & How to See It: On Hate, Despair & Hope in Contemporary Film
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    Notre Thoughts
    -Addressing Despair: Nathan on First Reformed
    -How Evergreen Became Irrelevant
    -October 2018 show breakdown: all the deets 
    -On Color Darkrooms
    -The Non-Bailers: Thank You to the Cast & Crew of Men I Trust, Pt I
    -People I Trust: Thanks to My Cast and Crew, Pt 2
    -Nathan's Overlooked Films of 2016: Trailers, photos, analyses
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    -Nathan on Wet Lab Prints
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    Nathan the Friendly Hermit, Part II: Pastier and Pastier
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    Gone Girl: Fidelity & Subjectivity
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    -The Martian: On Intelligence in Pop Culture
    -About Elly
    -Best films of 2015: Trailers, photos, analyses
    -Selected writings on films released in 2014, 2013, and 2012. 

    On the Street:
    -It's Complicated (on Rainier RapidRide)
    -Jessica Lee
    -Ah, Volume
    -Eulogy for the Damned
    -King Travis
    ​-The Great and Terrible Fifth & Jackson: An Ethnography
    The Veterinarian: A Story on Grief in 4 Parts
    -The Glow
    -Decent Street: Kendrick, Gender, Lingo, & the Good Man Problem
    -The Shake'N'Bake: Parts 1, 2, & 3
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    Pulling Our Weight, Part I
    -Pulling Our Weight, Part II: Addressing the Homeless Laziness Question
    -I've Been Sainted
    -Dominique The Mystique
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    -Deserve, the Concept and the Song
    ​-Gangsta Phone Strategy, Deep Breaths & Kindness Rising
    -The Joy of Bus Driving
    -The Knife's Edge Dance
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    -The Soulful Stench
    -"Everybody Need to Quit Acting Hard and S**t"
    -The Mother's Day Apocalypse
    -Ode to the 358
    -"I BET YOU APPROVE UH GAY MARRIAGE"
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    -The Nathan Train
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    ​-Saddest Music in the World​
    -Rainier & Henderson, Baby!
    -Sheeeeeeyyiitt: Strategies for Day or Night
    ​-AngryNice I (Love Through Frustration)
    AngryNice II: Tran Chimes In
    AngryNice III (We've All Felt It)
    -Love (Hurting From a Lack Thereof)
    -Hip to be Joyful
    -Future, Present, Past
    ​-Changing Awful
    -Harsh
    ​-The Nameless Heroes
    -The Break-Up
    -Tropic Of
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    -Leaving Small Talk Behind
    ​-She Did It On a Monday
    ​-One Day, My Friend
    -I Am Now Two Years Old
    ​-The Harder Thing
    -Poker Face Practice
    -The Great Freeze

    For Bus Drivers!
    --How to Drive the 7: The Complete Care Package
    -
    -It's Called Working
    -
    -Bus Driver Appreciation Day: Coronavirus Style
    -The Swagger I Love: Thoughts on My Fellow Operators
    ​-A Love Letter for My Colleagues: Exercises and Stretches for Operators
    -What I've Learned From Other Bus Drivers
    -Rest in Peace, Breda Monster
    -I Don't Know What a Trolley is, Part I
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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Book
  • On Cinema
    • Essays on Film
    • Top Film Lists & Reflections
    • On Terrence Malick
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  • Photography
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