Car Pool Log: 2007 05-15

Tan Buick sedan, tan leather interior. Driver was listening to KQED when I arrived.

Behind the Driver’s seat: a glass jelly jar with a metal lid, some kind of red and white linen. Sitting next to me: a box of Kleenex, a metal liquid container. In the pocket of the side door was a thick collection of worn and heavily used city maps.

Driver appeared out of place in this vehicle, as if it didn’t belong to her.

Topics on the radio included Attorney General Arthur Gonzalez’s deputy resigned, stating the high cost of having college-aged children as a reason. Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, is under investigation and scrutiny for giving his girlfriend a raise and asking the “bank teller” to keep it hush-hush.

While turning down the Fremont off-ramp Second Passenger asked Driver if she was going across Market (perhaps). I didn’t hear a response from Driver but sensed unspoken tension.

As we turned onto Fremont, Driver turned around and asked me where I wanted to be dropped off. I wasn’t certain she was speaking to me at first; I had assumed she was speaking to Second Passenger. She asked me again. “The corner’s fine,” I said and she pulled over.