Nathan Vass
Nathan Vass is an artist, filmmaker, photographer, and author by day, and a Metro bus driver by night, where his community-building work has been showcased on TED, NPR, The Seattle Times, KING 5 and landed him a spot on Seattle Magazine’s 2018 list of the 35 Most Influential People in Seattle. He has shown in over forty photography shows is also the director of nine films, six of which have shown at festivals, and one of which premiered at Henry Art Gallery. His book, The Lines That Make Us, is a Seattle bestseller and 2019 WA State Book Awards finalist.
"I don't have a transfer...," says this sullen brother, trailing off into awkward silence. A lanky dark-skinned fellow about my age, maybe a few years younger and a few inches taller, dressed in an orange waterproof jacket which would work well as a dress on me. Rainier and Forest.
"Well,...
"Geezer program?! You're what, fifty? You're a young guy, man. Don't you know sixty's the new forty?"
John and I continue our conversation. We're passing the time by ribbing each other – I'm trying to convince him he'll be alive for a long time, despite the "geezer program" he's currently in, and he's...
A figure slips on through the back door at outbound 12th and Jackson, against the rules. Maybe he's doing it in loving memory of the Ride Free Area. This used to irritate me, and sometimes still does.* But why? I think it's less about the rules than simply my...
Five minutes after a phone conversation in which I got dumped, this guy showed up and asked if I wanted any fried chicken. He was an Ezell's employee, a squat and friendly face in the wee hours, absolutely loaded with tenders, wings, rolls, you name it.
I don't usually eat...
"How you doin'?" I ask a man stepping in.
"You know how it goes," he replied. "Some days chicken, some days Phillies."
He didn't smile til the end of it, which made it all the funnier. We laugh.
"You're hired," a woman said, watching me greet and respond to the various faces...
The younger man pays with the change he's carefully counted. He'd just asked how much the bus costs around here. After I give him his transfer, he says pleasantly, in a distinct accent, "Hey. I am trying to get to Everett?"
"Oh, I wish you had told me that before you paid,...
She rides every Sunday night, on her way to church. Her love of God and music overtakes her body as she gives in to the rhythms of her headphones, her body shuddering as if in outright control of the beat. We might call it foolhardy for those of us...
People call me the n-word when they like me, and 'white boy' when they don't. He calls me both, and he's always happy to see me.
This Michael's last name really is Jackson, a fellow in his twenties who makes full use of the excellent napping opportunities the long 7/49 route provides....