Weird last night

Keeping Portland weird is not always a good thing. Last night at the bus stop, waiting after class, I found myself in a cloud of negative energy. Several student pedestrians passed, yelling obscenities into their cell phones. Not at a teacher, I hope. A dazed fellow passed, swearing at the universe in general. One hoped none of these angry folks was armed. Look at them wrong and bang! The media gives a stronger sense of negative news than in the past but I never saw this kind of hostility on the streets twenty or more years ago. Things have gotten worse, not just reported as worse. Why once upon a time, I recall, it was commonplace for a passing stranger to smile at you! This still happens now and again, and I treasure those exceptions to the rule.