A Lot More Than We're Aware

We'll call him Grizzly Alan. Let's just say he balances out the status quo (and to be frank, the level of energy) on the 70. He's one of my favorite passengers on that route. No smartphone or business casual here- he strides confidently on board, sweaty and shirtless in high summer, with a matted goatee, cooler, backpack and dog in tow. Tipping the scales away from haute commuter-land and bringing it all back home. Us folks on the 70 skew younger, and Alan seems about my generation. He's quite educated despite his appearance; he's the fellow referred to at the end of this post, wherein he, a law student and myself passed the time in all manner of intellectual discussion. Alan lives underneath I-5.

"Hope you have a safe rest of the night," I tell him as he gathers his things.
"Thanks. I hope you don't get shot at!"
"Me too!" I laughed. "It'd be kind of a bummer!"
He grinned and then spoke seriously. "You won't," he said. "It's all about the attitude."
"I think so too. I really believe that."
"Yeah. We have a lot more control over situations than we're aware."

He said it with such confidence. I for one could not agree more. What's stronger than bulletproof glass? Good customer service. Anticipating others' needs. Empathy.