Previously, I confessed my deep and abiding affection for sitting in The Pocket while on Muni, as well as my irritation with the Blockit No Pocket phenomenon. But a few people showed me the error of my ways. The Pocket can be hard on the knees, and it is the most cramped seat on the train. The Blockit has a nice one-knee freedom, plus it faces the middle accordion section, which is nominally exciting as it twists through turns while above ground.

Last week, while enjoying the rebellious luxury of my own Blockit No Pocket, I spotted an older woman having some trouble getting seated before the train started up again. She was holding onto the bar in the middle accordion section as she tried to walk to the baseball seats. From the looks of her grip and the train’s rate of acceleration, I could see this was not going to end well.

I got up, not altogether steady myself, and held both hands out to her. We smiled at each other as we clasped hands. I braced the back of my legs against the seat as I swung her, gently, toward the first base seat. She landed as delicately as a bird and let go, laughing as she thanked me.

That dance was the best thing I did all day.

HIDWtS Rating: One, two, cha-cha-cha.

[box type=“shadow”]I ride a shuttle to work. It is a really nice shuttle and the first time I have ever had this luxury, causing me to overthink pretty much every aspect of it, especially where to sit. And now I overthink where I decide to sit in every open-seating situation, so I’m writing about it in a series called How I Decide Where to Sit.[/box]