No worries

By Bob

The No. 44 rolled down Capitol Highway toward downtown on a lazy, sunny Sunday afternoon. As we reached the on-ramp that would deliver the bus onto Barbur Boulevard, the riders' eyes were diverted to the left.

On the far side of the road, a fire truck was stopped behind a smoking car. The hood of the large 1980s-vintage car was open and blackened. The engine apparently had caught fire and the front half of the vehicle was a sooty mess. Several firefighters were surveying the damage, and several more were directing traffic on the multi-lane road around the orange cones they had deployed at the scene.

As the bus moved away from the half-charred car, our eyes landed on the rear of the vehicle. The trunk was open. A lawn chair had been set up in the shade on the road's shoulder. An older, white-haired gentlemen, presumably the burned vehicle's driver, was seated in the chair. He looked relaxed, considering the circumstances. He had a can of Coke in one hand and a magazine in the other.

No real worries on a summer day.