The View From Nathan's Bus

One Last Story (Video)

7/2/2020

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.)

5/1. Bravado. Charles reveals his vulnerability, and tries to cover it up. On the conflict between masculinity and sensitivity.
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.
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.
5/5. Go Forth. A man recently released from jail is unable to hide his happiness.
5/6. Freedom From. An elderly female passenger reflects on Third and Pike. On how America can look to outsiders.
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.
5/9. Helpers in the Night. A female passenger, a sherriff, and a fancy couple all behave very differently from how we might assume.
5/11. The Wave Has Landed. Fourth-Wave feminism has lended– even in the 'hood. Here's what it sounds like.
5/12. She Strong. A man praises his mother, unknown to most of the world, for her remarkable quality.
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.
5/14. Slow Healer. On processing trauma, restoring confidence, and functioning on the job after receiving life's blows.
5/15. For Night Operators: Tips on Sleepers. It's a more complicated issue than it seems.
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.
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.
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.
5/23. How to Drive the 7, Pt IV of IV: Route 49 Southbound. Includes coach positioning for every block of southbound Third.
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.
5/25. Eric, Fully, II: John. Quick moment with a fellow I totally thought was named Eric.
5/28. Vern One. Vern makes me happy. We discuss mortality without saying it out loud, and touch on its salve.
5/29. Name Caller: Final Edition. People call me all sorts of things. here's a list of favorites.
5/31. The United States of Floyd. Nathan on everything George Floyd.
6/3. CJ Rising. I see a young man I never thought I'd see again– and in far better shape.
6/4. Our Lady of Context. The first of three conversations with a niqab-clad friendly spirit.
6/5. The Good Neighbor. Sometimes people help out for no other reason than that it's part of who they are.
6/6. Nathan Converses With His Colleagues: VII. Nathan and Thomas being silly in the wee hours.
6/7. Friends and Strangers and Friends. It pays to be nice to everyone; you never quite know who you're talking to.
6/9. About the Gesture. A gesture of respect from two south-end teens.
6/11. Late-Night Glimpses. A collection of brief memories from late-night driving.
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.
6/14. Pacing to a New Beat. A youngster on the 5 gets invigorated.
6/15. Our Lady of Miracles. The woman from the 6/4 story shows up again with great news.
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.
6/18. Redmond Summer Reading Program: Meet the Author (Video). Nathan interviewed on why he wrote The Lines That Make Us.
6/22. In the Before. A humorous moment on the 5 inspires thoughts on time's linearity.
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.
6/24. Our Lady III: Lows and Highs. A final moment with our friend from 6/4 and 6/15.
6/24. To Thrive, Meanwhile. A young father and I confront his recent diabetes diagnosis.
6/24. The Righteous Hustle. John insisted on a trial, and it paid off.
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.
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.
6/27. She's on Fire. I find things to admire in a loudmouthed, angry, profane woman who tells it like it is.
6/27. The Barista. A former passenger makes my day after I tell her of my appearance in Seattle Magazine's 2018 List.
6/27. Lessons Learned on the 5. Some things I've mellowed out on.
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?
6/28. Nathan Converses With His Colleagues, Part VIII. I talk with one of the happiest drivers about one of the unhappiest drivers.
6/28. It's Called Working. Bus drivers behaving badly, and what we as operators can do about it.
6/28. The Friendly 5. We make the 5 feel like a communcal living room.
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.
6/29. Why So Serious?? A hilariously harsh critique of the pimp-roll swagger, from a perhaps unexpected source.
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!
6/29. In Napoli. Making each other feel loved on the other side of the world.
6/29. Curae Aude. Dare to Care! On black lives in 2020, and how others doig well benefits rather than detracts from our own welfare.
6/29. Lamlam 2. Isn't she wonderful? We met her in the 6/25 post. Here she is again, six years later.
6/30. Yes, I’ve Been Assaulted. The big question is how to think about it afterwards.
6/30. Ed, Remembered. This one's for you, Patricia. The impact people can have on us.
6/30. Felt From a Distance. Being grateful for moments across a career I hope I still remember in old age.
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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One Last Story (Video)

The Final Flurry: Index

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