Sunday, August 20, 2006

Adventurous Interruptus

I should start this post out with the following from my horrorscope for today: Daily extended (by Astrology.com)Moving from place to place will be challenging today -- there are limits on your independence than will be significant. The good news is that this restriction can help you put off things you don't want to do! If travel is not an option (or your travel is interrupted) right now, there is a reason for this, and the situation around you is something you need to observe more closely. Until you have a clearer picture of what is going on around you, you will not be able to move on. (This will be pertinent I promise. Although I did not observe closely.)

I headed out on my Sunday adventure today to try letterboxing. I had picked a hunt that began down at the Space Needle because it didn't require a compass and I figured if the walking became too much, I could hop a bus to the next destination. The basics for this particular one is that I had to find a plaque in the first place and then using this code I would find where to go to the next plaque. So I found the first plaque and there was someone sitting in front of it! So I waited and read my book until the guy moved. I was about to make my move when another guy sat down. Crikey. Finally he left, and I sat down and did the code thing. It was time consuming, but I started to finish words with what was most logical and that helped cut the time.

My clue sent me down to the waterfront. I field tripped down there and searched for my next plaque. Whilst down there, this guy asked me to use my phone to call and get a ride back to Everett. I figure he's coming off a shift at one of the restaurants which is why he is so sweaty. It is hot outside and he's wearing the waiter's uninform of white shirt dark pants. He tries 2 different people and gets the 2nd one. He then stands for awhile near me while I'm still working on my letters. Then he asks to use it again and I say sure. He offers me a dollar, but it was just sad. I can afford a few minutes for this poor guy to get a ride. Then he says he isn't feeling well. The whole time he was sweating profusely (about 15 minutes). And he asks if he can use the phone again to call an ambulance. Yikes. He calls and says that there's an ambulance coming for him but then wanders off. I follow him because well 1 - now I'm worried about the guy and 2 - I don't want 911 chasing me down for making a false call. So he walks down the block where a fire truck and police car are but then walks back because they were responding to some other issue. So I catch up and wait with him. We chat for a few minutes and I ask about the sweating. Turns out that's a side effect of the chemicals he's been putting into his body. For years now. He's waiting for a call for a bed at a rehab facility. Clearly I am naive since I had no inkling that he was high (or going through withdrawal I don't know.) We chat and wait and he keeps taking his pulse. He said it feels like he is dead but he knows he isn't since he has a pulse. In retrospect it was actually kind of sad for the guy. We see the fire truck coming out of the parking lot area and he walks over to it and talks to the firemen since we hadn't seen the ambulance. I don't know how it works, maybe the dispatcher could tell he had problems and so he wasn't a priority. I don't want to invade his space so I hold back while he talks to the firemen. Then he heads back to me and we walk back across the street and wait for the firetruck to turn down the block we're on. They stop and get out of the truck and I feel okay about leaving him.

By now at least a half hour has passed and I'm too hot so I stop into a Starbucks to work on my clue (I had written down the whole plaque because I had gotten hot and wanted to sit down and work out the puzzle.) I had a banana frap and decided to head for home. It was already almost 5 and I had dinner to cook and there were still 3 clues to do so I figure I can finish another day. I'll hold on to what I've done so far. It was kind of fun and I think other ones may be more fun.

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