Mondays, you’ll find me at ASU ICA (Intercollegiate Athletics) all day, workin’ with several student athletes on developing the student side of that equation. Mondays, you’ll also find me riding the bus. When I first chose to make public transit a regular affair, a tweep or two less inclined to engage such activity tweeted cautions. Indeed, there are all sorts of colorful people who use public transit.
Like Tweety Bird.
86 years old. Veteran. Father of 2 daughters. The eldest is 56 years old with various mental disabilities, but employed by the U.S. Postal Service. She’s soon to retire to go to school to be a lawyer. The youngest is 54 years. Tweety doesn’t claim to be 86, but claims 30 with 56 years of experience. Which makes me 29 with 1 and 1/2 years of experience.
Member of all the clubs. I counted 5 that he listed, but can only remember a few: American Legion, VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), Pulaski Club. That makes him Polish too. Pulaski Club of Arizona is located at 44th Street and McDowell so Tweety walks 2-3 miles a day so that he can dance Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.
Hit by shrapnel from a rocket during war (don’t know which one). Took 20 years to find a steady job. 50 jobs in those 20 years. Several of them in D.C. including at the Congressional building, Smithsonian Institution, and National Gallery of Art. Never fired, just let go. But each job change meant an increase in pay. He’s drawing 3 retirements and a pension. Somehow, I always thought these were the same thing.
Tweety wants to write 3 books. The first to be titled “How to Survive 5 Marriages”. 5 divorces without paying lawyer fees or alimonies. The second about his career. Served in all 4 military branches, but was wearing an Air Force ball cap. Claims he only associates with those who rank above him. Not sure what to think about that. His rank: sergeant. The third about his life philosophies. Respect women and treat them well; the worse you treat them, the more they’ll cost you. It’s not what you know, it’s how you apply what you know. If you have a way with words, you’ll find you’ll get what you want. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’m thinking he could probably cover these and many others in the first 2 books.
There’s creativity there. Taught woodworking one semester. Has written poetry, maybe still does. Plays the piano at a senior center. Can’t read sheet music, but can translate what he hears through his fingers.
And faith too. Living the good life, simply thru belief, faith, and love. The Lord doesn’t give you what you want, but almost everything you need and in his own time. Tweety doesn’t preach the Bible, but everything he needs is in there. Another 80 years to live cause the Lord has 80 more years of work to do through him.
Tweety Bird.
Yes, there are all sorts of colorful people who use public transit. If you choose to interact with any one of them, you may just come across someone not otherwise encountered in your regular routines.
