On the bus

"Look at that guy on the corner! What a Campbell!"

"A Campbell?"

"Yeah.  Mmmm --mmmm good!"

A revolver, a box of bullets, and a gun cleaning kit. Everything except the holster.

Overheard on the bus today, in answer to the question: What are you getting your grandson for graduation?

A little explanation: the grandson is graduating from Police Academy, and will be a Philadelphia police officer. The city requires officers to carry an off-duty weapon, but does not provide them.

Nothing in the budget

I'd love to go with you, but there's nothing in the budget this month for skydiving.


Overheard on the bus

Insomnia. Euphoria. Mania.

If only I could stay in the second state a lot longer.

Overheard conversation on the bus this morning.

Overheard half of conversation

Nobody dies a universal death; everyone dies a particular death. The magic is in the particulars . . . This is a way of uniting us all, killer and victim. It would be good to show some anger -- this should be a talking point . . . OK, that's great. It's going to be tricky. Play with the idea of ordinary virtues vs. extraordinary virtues.

Overheard bits of conversation as spoken by a woman on a cell phone on the train from Baltimore to Philadelphia last Saturday (obviously, I wasn't in the Quiet Car).

Hard not to be interested. It sounded as though she was giving advice to a politician scheduled to deliver a eulogy. Or could it have been advice to a pastor? Consdier what it might be like to deliver funeral eulogies or sermons as a regular part of your "business," especially for funerals of people you don't really know.