Yesterday I was on a crowded bus heading towards downtown Seattle. At one stop, a couple of young hip looking guys got on, and suddenly the bus was overtaken by the smell of … what is that? Paint thinner? Fingernail polish remover? Wood polish? The two guys (who couldn’t find a seat and were standing in the aisle) were chatting away and a woman sitting behind me must have made a face or something because one of them explained, “It’s paint lacquer. Someone lacquered the bus bench and didn’t put up a ‘WET PAINT’ sign. His jacket is ruined.” There was much fussing and clucking from everyone around the poor guy.

Then we were at my stop. The woman sitting next to me tried to get out of my way so I could get off the bus, but since the aisle was packed, she wasn’t able to give me much room. As I tried to squeeze around her, I accidentally bumped into her shoulder. The jostling then resulted in poor Mr. Lacquer Jacket getting some of the woman’s coffee dumped on his shirt. I was one of the last people trying to get off the bus but I had to stop and put an apologetic hand on the poor guy’s chest and say, “Oh shit — I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t even 9 o’clock and that guy was already having the shittiest day ever. I felt bad that I played a part in it.