Declining an invitation

Yesterday was a day off from writing, not even on purpose. There was simply nothing to say.

The world would be a much better place if people who had nothing to say simply shut the fuck up, so I thought I'd set an example.

Tomorrow, it's Thanksgiving at the all-you-can-eat place, with some of the family. I'm kinda dreading it because family, and also kinda looking forward to it because family.

Most of them won't be there, and none of the nieces, nephews, or grandchildren. Looks like we'll have only seven or nine people.

My brother Dick says he and his wife Young-sook will be having Thanksgiving with his wife's son's family. They barely speak English, same as his wife. Sounds like it'll be nice for her, though as always, awful for him, but that's the life Dick's chosen.

My brother Clay and his wife Karen have been non-committal, hemming and hawing. "Maybe we'll be there," Clay says, but my prediction is that they'll end up at one of their sons' houses.

My sister Hazel can't sit in her wheelchair for more than half an hour or so, so she no longer leaves the nursing home.

My brother Ralph is dead, so he can't make it. Hope his wife comes. I like her.

Dad won't be there for the same reason as Ralph, but Mom will. I'm dreading and looking forward to seeing her.

My nephew George-the-stoner won't be at the restaurant for Thanksgiving, but he's invited me to his place for Friday, the day after.

George and I have been texting recently, sometimes even about real things, and he's not an idiot. In person he's a bit much, but I like the guy. I'd say yes to his invitation if I could take the bus there and back, but he says there's no bus service near his house, so my answer is no.

"I'll pick you up and take you home," he says, but that's why the answer is no. The answer is always no, to anyone who offers to drive me somewhere.

It's a rule, for me: If I can't get there on the bus, I'm not coming.

First and least important, I don't like inconveniencing other people. Nobody in my family lives within ten miles, so picking me up and bringing me back is not quick and easy.

But mostly, I don't like inconveniencing me.

I'm an extreme introvert, and when I've had enough chit-chat at some social event, I must leave. Now.

If someone is driving me home, then I can't leave when I want to leave.

I do not want to wait fifteen minutes or half an hour while the driver says goodbye to everyone. I do not want another hour of chit-chat in the car as we drive toward my house. I do not want the inevitable side-trips on the way "since we're in the neighborhood." And I do not want the driver — George, or anyone else — to come inside my house "for just a few minutes" after the drive.

Screw all of that. It you want me to come over, live near a bus route. Especially on a holiday.

And now, the news you need,
whether you know it or not

• ACLU sues to let underage daughter witness father's execution

• Woman slows down traffic riding motorized scooter on Interstate

This is a local story that was played for laughs here in Seattle: A woman took her power scooter onto the interstate, which is illegal. "Technically it is trespassing," says a spokesman for the State Patrol "You’ll see the 'no trespassing' signs on the ramps."

I was amused like everyone else, but then I stopped and thought: Why are freeways for cars and trucks only? For safety and blah blah, says the article, which goes to greater lengths than most TV coverage to dig deep and explain why this is so dangerous, but bite me.

What's philosophically wrong with pedaling a bike or riding a scooter from Seattle to Bellingham or Tacoma, via the freeway? That's the most direct route.

America's freeways are built and maintained by tax dollars, and they're by far the most expensive public thoroughfares in America. They should be for all the public, with bike lanes, protected from traffic by concrete barriers. Scooters and rollerbladers, skateboarders and wheelchairs and pedestrians welcome. If it feels dangerous, lower the speed limit until it feels safe.

America should be for people, not for cars.

• Starbucks to close another unionized coffee shop

• With climate change, crops migrate north

And it never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops...

• Indiana sheriff's deputy accidentally shoots student during high school class

And it never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops, never stops...