Waiting for the 6 on SE Grand Avenue

For those of us who frequent mass transit through TriMet, this is a well-known situation. You go to the bus stop and you wait. I've been doing it since July, 2006, happily and thankfully. I got the perk that I wanted when I got my job, a handed-to-me-yearly-mass-transit pass. When I need a car, I reserve a Zipcar, by the hour, without having to have my own driver's insurance, without having to pay for any gasoline. I'm spoiled by TriMet and Zipcar.

Signs, out and about in NE Portland, No. 3

One more sign seen from the TriMet bus, the windshield this time. I believe it's also vintage. Too bad the bus driver's aisle-view mirror sort of destroys the shape of the top section.

Sunny Saturday! Been to a lecture and walked around taking photos. About to go out again into the sunshine, just as soon as I get this posted!

Walking from The Circuit Bouldering gym just of NE Sandy at NE 18th, on my way home today at 12:46 p.m. I had stopped for a few minutes to visit with Lamont and Leland who were in there bouldering. Lucky for me, they had a few minutes to stop climbing and visit with their little ol' Mom! Lucky for me also to get this photo of the two buses that I ride home from work--the 12 and the 19. That's my usual stop that the 19 is at--it's named NE Sandy and NE Flanders. The 12 is at the traffic signal at NE Sandy and NE 20th. The multi-browns brick building is the triangular one that houses Halo Salon, on the tip, and right behind it, The Blue Diamond PDX, my practically-perfect-in-every-way neighborhood bar. Depending on whim or weather, I can walk either direction at the tip of that triangle to get to my building--there's a side door if I go right, and there's a front door on the street parallel with NE 20th. Often I go to the front door so that I can get in a few more steps.

Seen from the bus on SW 6th Avenue, near West Burnside

I took this photo on March 30, 2013. I need to go out this weekend, looking for the downtown planters. I'll bet they are full of flowers either already blooming or about to bloom--we've had some warmer temperatures lately and some soft rain.

Benson Bubbler, seen at night.

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My favorite Benson Bubbler to photograph at night. On the corner of SW 6th and SW Main, with enough wind that the water's falling sideways. And an approaching TriMet bus in the background. All of these elements add up to a photo that I like. Click here for last year's post about the same bubbler, from a different perspective. I love these Portland water fountains!

Successful lines, going in all directions.

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On the way back from getting my flu shot at the Kaiser Interstate clinic Saturday morning, I noticed this young man's dreads as I sat down, how swell their curves and vertical lines worked beside the vertical and slanted lines in the MAX Yellow Line car section where the car articulates to go around curves and swerves. Since he had in his earbuds, I mouthed to him, "I like your hair!" He pulled one out and said, "Thank you. They're a mess right now." Then I asked if I could take his photo for my blog. He agreed, so I did, then I moved over next to him to ask him what his name was--Byron. I spelled it to make sure that I had it correct, and he said, "Yes, like the poet." I replied, "Yes, like Byron Scott of basketball fame." He grinned and said that he and his dad, Californians, are big-time Los Angeles Laker fans, that his dad's answering machine message mentions the world-champion-Los-Angeles-Lakers. What a fine moment, all because of successful lines, going in all directions.

Cooler air outside, warmer bodies inside, large windows opaque as a consequence of those differences--the 20 bus on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

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Wearing a quilted black satin brimmed hat, my multi-colored polka-dotted black rubber boots, and with my thigh-length raincoat completely zipped up and the hood pulled up over my hat, I boarded this 20 bus Sunday, September 29, at 12:49 p.m. on my way to a fundraiser tour for the Architectural Heritage Center. I had my Nikon secreted inside the upper left side of my raincoat and my over-the-shoulder black, rain repellant, many-pocketed handbag hanging outside my raincoat on the right side. I left my backpack at home because I had no idea how much turn-around space I would have on the tour. I certainly didn't want to knock anything off of someone's table or wall.

Seeing folks dressed in coats or hoodies, some with their belongings wrapped in plastic bags, didn't surprise me. All of us knew that it had been raining and blowing for hours and hours and would continue to do so.

On my way home after the tour, the 20 bus filled with thoroughly wet Portland Timbers' soccer fans who gave no clue as to the outcome of the game. It wasn't until I got home and checked Facebook that I learned the team had beat the LA Galaxy 1-0. And that 20,000 filled the stadium in the rain. Guess those who managed to quickly fill the 20 bus felt too water-logged to be excited about the victory. The hordes left on the sidewalks waited for the next bus in the downpour.

I've been to my own music festival.

My bus stop bench where I catch the 12 home after seeing movies and/or documentaries at the Hollywood Theatre. I sat there waiting Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings after seeing three nights of music-related documentaries. I'm a member of the Hollywood Theatre at the Producer level, so my admission is free and I get a free member-size popcorn.

I'm very happy to give you a list of the documentaries that I saw.


Friday night, 20 Feet From Stardom - The untold true story of the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. Triumphant and heartbreaking in equal measure, the film is both a tribute to the unsung voices who brought shape and style to popular music and a reflection on the conflicts, sacrifices and rewards of a career spent harmonizing with others. These gifted artists span a range of styles, genres and eras of popular music, but each has a uniquely fascinating and personal story to share of life spent in the shadows of superstardom. Along with rare archival footage and a peerless soundtrack are intimate interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and Sting to name just a few. I left wishing more than ever that I could sing. 


Saturday night, three Les Blank documentaries. I left well-pleased that I'd been able to see these three jewels, to witness the creativity captured on film by an equally creative man. 
Dizzy Gillespie (1965 – 23 min) – Les Blank’s earliest music film. Great Dizzy performances and personal moments.
The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (1970 – 31 min) – A portrait of the great Texas bluesman, Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Hot Pepper (1973 – 54 min) – profile of Clifton Chenier – the self-crowned “King” of Zydeco accordion.

Sunday night, two more Les Blank documentaries. I felt the same way Sunday night that I did on Saturday. 
Sprout Wings and Fly (1983 – 30 min) – A compassionate, life-affirming document of Appalachian fiddler Tommy Jarrel.
A Well Spent Life (1971 – 44 min) – Tribute to the Texas songster and guitar great, Mance Lipscomb. 

There was a third one on Sunday evening, Chulas Fronteras (51 min) – portrait of the Tex-Mex scene and its musical protest against migrant worker oppression, opting instead to head for the bench at the bus stop so that I could stop by on my way home for the last 30 minutes of Kevin Selfe's Blues Jam at the Blue Diamond PDX.

Salvador Dali Ankle

At first, I thought I'd title this post Accidental Frame so that I could mention the serendipity of the juxtaposition of the pedestrian and the yellow metal framework near the bus door. However, as I looked at the photo in PicMonkey where I uploaded it for resizing, what appeared to be an unnaturally shaped and angled ankle, combined with the wavy curves of the calf, made a different decision for me. I would be remiss to miss out on the chance to compare the waviness I saw--brought about I believed by the perspective of the pedestrian's leg as photographed--with those wavy, melted watches of Salvador Dali.

When I clicked on the photo at its largest size, the actual reason became easy to see. A wide streak of sun-glare obliterates the outer half of her foot and washes out the outer half of her blue shoe. So, you can rest easy. This woman's right foot is regular and doing a good job helping her wait patiently for her own bus.

April 1, the movement of pedestrians. April 2, the movement of vehicles.

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Saturday night, March 16, I first rode the MAX Yellow Line from the Portland Expo Center where I had enjoyed the Portland Roadster Show - yea, Ratty Caddy - and some fine rockabilly - yea, Marti Brom and Levi Dexter. I got off the MAX at SW 5th and Pine, walked around the corner and waited for the bus home on West Burnside, at the stop in front of the 76 station, known as the SW 4th Avenue bus stop. 

Here comes the 12 Sandy Blvd., my bus. I've tried many times to get a good photo of an approaching bus at night--success, finally. 

And I like how the photo shows the width of West Burnside. Here's what I found online at the city's Web site about the widening of the street: By 1931, the need for more roadway space led to a street widening project on both East and West Burnside. On the west, Burnside was widened from the bridge approach to the Park Blocks. Building fronts were chopped off and rebuilt at the new sidewalk line to add an extra lane. On the east side, the first floor of many buildings became an arcade to accommodate a new sidewalk as the old sidewalk gave way to another traffic lane.



Here's the photo, cropped a bit, just because I am so excited about how great the headlights and tail lights look, how swell it is to be able to read the number and the name of the bus. 

Seen on or from mass transit on Saturday, March 9, 2013

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Seen on the 12 TriMet bus: Usually I sit where this little girl sits, or across from her in the parallel row of seats beneath the windows on the passenger side of the bus. This particular morning the mother and daughter had spread out over these three seats, and across from them a couple of loud, out-of-the-ordinary women took up those three seats, so I sat here instead. I'm glad that I did, because I had the chance to snap this photo, not taking enough time to focus properly. To me, her face and hairstyle take me back to the 1950s. When the 12 stopped at the intersection of NE Couch and MLK, I got off and walked a block east, then a block south to wait for the streetcar. My goal, Memorial Coliseum and the Oregon FIRST Robotics competition, my free access to the building itself, as well as a chance to witness high-school-student-produced-Frisbee-flinging robots!
 

Seen from the Portland Streetcar CL Line: For a few minutes I watched this man who had stopped where I waited at the bus/streetcar stop on the corner of SE Grand Avenue and East Burnside, bus transfer grasped tightly in his left hand. All the while I hoped that I would get the chance to snap a photo. Finally, after I boarded the streetcar, I stood up as we slowly pulled away and got this one. I can't figure out what fascinates me the most--the two-tone shoes, the black-and-white striped socks, the Mr.-Green-Jeans cuffed just so below the knee, the matching-toned-plaid jacket with the black fur collar which looked too warm in the sunshine, the multi-pocketed mossy green satchel, the white-collared, long-sleeved dress shirt, or the burgundy and gold tie. To tell you the truth, I've decided that the well-thought-out components of his outfit fascinated me most of all, as they combined to create just the look he was after. Even more fascinating, every single item he wore appeared to be brand-spanking-new. 

I love Portland 'cause you never know what you're going to see next!

A shared mass transit stop on SE MLK

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January 26 after the lecture at the Architectural Heritage Center, I decided to ride the Portland Streetcar down to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center to visit the steam locomotives. As you can see from this photo, the streetcar and the TriMet bus share this stop. That's the Morrison Bridge westbound approach you see there above the streetcar.





I waited while this lady boarded the bus. I think it's fantastic how that little ramp automatically folds out of the bus floor once the driver activates it. Once the bus drove off, the streetcar moved into place beside the yellow strip of ADA truncated domes which serve as a detectable safety zone, a system of textured ground surface indicators which assist blind and vision impaired pedestrians. Personally, I find them helpful, too, especially when it's been raining. I feel like they're less slick than a wet sidewalk. Anyway, the doors on the streetcar slid open and I walked on, took a seat and looked out the huge windows as we continued southward are MLK, going underneath the eastbound exit ramp of the Morrison Bridge. I love mass transit!

Seen from a TriMet bus

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On January 8, after I walked westward over the Hawthorne Bridge into downtown Portland, I ended up on the bus home which takes me eastward back over the Willamette River, on the Burnside Bridge. OK. I know what you're thinking right now--she's crazy, she goes west to go east, to get home after work! Yes, I work in Southeast Portland and live in Northeast Portland. But, I promise that there's a logical method to my madness. 

If I go straight north after work for 22 blocks by bus or walking to catch that last bus home on East Burnside at NE Grand Avenue, I have to stand up in the aisle of said bus, hoping I can balance myself from one of those high-up straps, for the 20 blocks until I come to where I get off the bus. Not always. Sometimes a person gives me, the senior citizen, his or her seat. And if I do stay on the east side of the Willamette River, you'd think I'd save some time, get home quicker. Nope. The only way I can save any time is if I manage to catch the streetcar right in front of my building, but I've only done that three times since it started running last September. 

If I catch a westbound bus after work, and I have three possibilities by 5:06 p.m. or so, I get off at SW 6th and SW Main, walk three blocks north and catch the last bus home (I have two possibilities) in just a few minutes, and I get a seat. I feel much better about riding a bus when I am sitting in a seat, being a senior citizen and all. 

Anyway, I took this photo looking through the windshield from my seat on the bus last Tuesday. I like the red taillights and the red and green traffic signals; the row of green street signs on the left of the photo; and all of the white, double-light street lights. One of the best things about this photo is the huge neon sign for United Finance, atop their building on the northeast corner of East Burnside and SE Grand Avenue, the cross street. You can see the opposite side of the same sign, in Vintage Portland’s post with a 1963 photo of the Burnside Bridge. In order to thoroughly enjoy this fabulous photo, click on it to enlarge it, then click on it again to make it even larger. Then scroll towards the lower right corner--you'll have to scroll across and down, probably. You'll see the sign then. 

And if you scroll around to see more of the bridge itself and notice two white-roofed buses, one behind the other, on the left of the photo, the bus I was in when I took the photo above is in that lane and close to the intersection where the white car is making a turn south. That intersection was then Union Avenue, the cross street, and Burnside--in 1989 Union Avenue became Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Did you notice the green street sign in my photo? In the top right corner? NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. is the street we're stopped at in the bus. The next green sign might be legible to you--it's NE Grand Avenue. 

Thanks to Vintage Portland, those of us who subscribe to it, as well as those who come across it randomly, get to see all sorts of fine vintage photos of our city and its environs!

Seen on a TriMet bus

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July 24, 2010, after work on the homeward commute, I couldn't resist taking a photo of my work friend you see here--she worked in another department during a specific season for several years. We got acquainted at the bus shelter waiting for our first bus home, easily chit-chatting together from the get-go. She's from New England originally. Can't you just hear her fantastic accent? I can. Doesn't she look classy-sunny-day-summertime-perfect? And this is at the end of the work day! The last time I saw her, serendipitously this summer walking on the sidewalk downtown, she told me she was working full-time at a major department store and that she and her husband were contemplating moving back so that they could be closer to family. She already knew that she could transfer to a store there. I hope all goes well for them, no matter which coast they call home.

In response to one of my commenters, Andy, here's a link to what's in the news right now about TriMet. And let me make it totally clear, I do not work at TriMet. I use TriMet every time I leave the apartment, unless I'm going somewhere within walking distance, going somewhere in a Zipcar, or going somewhere with my sons or  a friend who has a car. I find all space associated with TriMet to be perfect for people watching, vehicle watching, and therefore, taking photos.

http://www.oregonlive.com/roadreport/index.ssf/2013/01/trimet_boss_says_the_oregonian.html

Seen on a TriMet bus

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At first glance, this photo looks like the end of a shopping trip for this young woman. However, I remember thinking when I took this photo on May 5, 2012, that I was glad that I did not have to pull that over-sized, thick paperback book out of that bag and study on the bus. She holds in her hand what looks to be the class syllabus--there are numbers and letters in the corner she holds with her slender, neatly manicured fingers--and the paperback book is opened to Chapter 1. What I find illogical is why what seems to be the beginning of a course of study is happening the first week of May. Oh, by the way, I'm certain she's repurposed the Macy's bag into a school tote bag. 

Seen on a TriMet bus

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(1) The bus rolled to a stop. I noticed two passengers in the space for one, associated with this motorized wheelchair and a hanging black bag. 


(2) The bus driver gives the pup a pat as he/she continues dangling on the back of the exiting wheelchair. 


(3) You know, I assumed the black bag was a backpack, but now that I see it from this angle, I'm thinking maybe it's a duffle bag with its handles hanging over the headrest on the chair. 


(4) Almost gone, swiftly and silently rolling on their way. Bye, doggie. 

I took this series of photos on November 20, 2010.

Seen at a MAX stop

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I took this photo in the early evening on March 2, 2011. Waiting for the MAX Yellow Line at the stop entitled Overlook Park, I thought the juxtaposition of the arriving MAX light rail train on the left with the departure of the one on the right would make for a good photograph. I'm pleased with the result.

What I find fascinating, well, one of the things I find fascinating, about the MAX trains is that there are doors on both sides of the cars which means that the train can let folks on and off no matter which side butts up against the platform at the stop. And there's always an announcement before the train stops, something along the lines of "Doors to my right," or "Doors to my left" so, even if you've spaced out while riding along, you know which way to head to get off!

That other person and I are waiting to go towards the City Center, southwest eventually. The folks leaving on the northbound train got onto it at the station out of sight on its right, as you're looking at it here in the photo. The white strip of truncated domes--detectable warnings--lets everyone know how close the edge of the platform is, a safety feature. The aluminum box in the lower left is the ticket machine, something I don't have to ever use as long as I remember to have my mass transit pass with me--it's a fine perk from where I work!

Seen either on or from a TriMet vehicle, be it bus or MAX, or maybe even the Portland Streetcar, which is not TriMet

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Straight out of the camera, I took this photo on December 8, 2012, while riding the bus home. The writing on the man's hat and jacket intrigued me.

 

Here the same photo has been altered with Snapseed, an app I have on my iPhone 5. On the hat, you may be able to read some of it. The best I can make out, it says, "Eternal life is in Jesus, the son of God." On the jacket, it says, "Orphans and widows indeed," then lists three Bible verses, Isaiah 1:17, 23; James 1:27, and 2nd Timothy 2:19. 

Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

 
Isaiah 1:23 - Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

James 1:27 - Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

2nd Timothy 2:19 - Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.