Workday commute across the Dumbarton bridge has worsened
since Facebook took over Sun Microsystems's (which at the
time was already bought by Oracle) headquarter and started
to build in east Menlo Park. Two intersections were added on
Bayfront Expy and traffic volume more than doubled on Fwy84
and the surrounding area.
Even after Thursday's Jiu-Jitsu class, it took us more than
20mins to reach the T junction to the west of the bridge.
After a day of fasting at work, I was hangry, i.e., very
hungry and mildly angry. The truck in front of us stayed
still, however, when the lights turned green, and so did the
other cars. As it finally started to move, stop-and-go, I
saw the woman behind the wheel crying.
A flock of about a dozen tiny ducklings were crossing.
Without mom, they were obviously at a loss and ran around
aimlessly, like a dozen yellow marbles on a big rocking table. Meanwhile,
no car had the nerve to move. The truck finally sped away
without causing any collateral damage and I came to the front.
Without thinking too much, I parked, stepped out of the car,
and charged at the little furry thread balls. My goal was to
chase them off the road as soon as possible for the good of
both birds and men. No one joined me in this effort,
however, which made me wondering whether people, those at
the front at least, were enjoying the scene more than eager
to get home? Were they taking videos?
Anyway, I felt rushed by the silence. I could've done a
better job by keeping the birds together but in the end, one
maverick left the team in panic, found its way to the
opposite direction, and hid itself between two black barrels
(there were about 10 of them, each about four feet tall,
serving as median barriers on Fwy 84 at the intersection.)
The rest of them went bay side to the north.
"Good Job!" A woman in the back cheered as I returned,
feeling clumsy and ambivalent.
I started the car, crossed the lights, took a peek when
passing the barrels but couldn't spot the bird. The road
was empty leading to the bridge and the stampede was on.
The image of the lone duckling at the center of the freeway
stuck in my mind all the way home. Tim tried to cheer me up
by saying I did the right thing. It would be hard for me to forget this.
