For years my commute to work provided an hour and a half of “me time.” I actually liked riding the bus. My work subsidized $80/month tax deductible bus pass provided a non-stop route to downtown Minneapolis. During peak hours every six minutes a bus would load, and off we go. My route dropped me one block from the work place. NICE.
The first day riding the bus I sang, “The wheels on the bus go round and round” (not kidding) Several commuters peaked over their newspapers. The next day I did not sing, this was pre cell phone day’s. The busses were continually upgraded over the years. When a fresh new, and improved motor coach was added to the fleet, I would take in a deep breath, hold it, and thank the Lord for this day. I loved and appreciated that new bus smell. Hard plastic seats evolved to cushy recliners with cup holders, and theater lighting. Wi-Fi and overhead storage were added, going to work was more like getting on board a plane than the hard seat school busses of yesteryear.
With some of my “me time”, I focused on learning how to make video’s using iMovie. The bus driver would deal with traffic while I tippy tapped away with my laptop. Traffic jam, hey what do I care,,,,, “More me time,,,,, yeaaah.” It took months before I was comfortable building a movie clip. Pulling together still photos and applying a Ken Burns effect, editing video clips, and adding music was really a great way to pass the time. As technology would have it, one day I did a software update, and the whole iMovie program changed. Buttons were different, the layout was not the same, the feel was very unbalanced. I became frustrated with the whole thing. In a huff I through my arms up in the air, and shoved my laptop into my backpack. There I sat befuddled, staring straight ahead with my arms folded, I became the grumpy old guy you see on the bus.
The other day I was visiting with a Llano Grande guest who had also made videos. This prompted me to look up my old YouTube video’s. Now this is a real time suck, but if you have time to kill, I invite you to click on a few links, and see what I did during my bus rides.
Video line up
1 Yogi Dan
8 Murphy
Yogi Dan was my first video. I made it for my sister Les, she did not believe I was going to an early morning yoga class.
Hosanna teaser Hosanna biker retreat – Our home church has a motorcycle group that would ride every month, the second Sunday, at 1:30 PM. I liked how it was punctual, and I could count on it happening. We gathered in the church lot, rode for about 90 minutes, stopped for a treat, then rolled on home with riders peeling away from the group as needed. Annually we biked to a retreat center for a weekend.
Vieques 2014 – Living in Minnesota can produce a bad case of cabin blues during the final stages of winter. The prescription to remedy this was a ten-day vacation somewhere in the Caribbean. Deb became very good choosing a new destination each year.
Making a kayak trailer – For fifteen years we camped with a pickup camper. Loading kayaks on top of the camper would have been difficult. In order to take our kayaks with us I needed to build a trailer. This was my first movie production. Taking the time to set up my camera and shoot a scene. It slowed down my projects, but hey, I needed material for my commute.
Rake and Roll – Angie, my favorite Texas niece would share videos with her kids. The kids thought they were funny. I shot Rake and Roll with them in mind.
Birthday Biking – Of the dozen people in our then bible study group, four have birthday’s in September. One year we celebrated their birthdays with a bicycle ride.
Murphy – We discovered Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve and for 30 years we walked, cross country skied, and rode horse here.
Living In Eternity 