When the Homily is about Immunology

Escape

So felt this evening's commute home. The rain and wind pelted the city all day long, and from my freeway view in the lab I could see the collecting water and the waves being thrown as car after car tempted fate by passing through small lakes at exceptional speeds.

But by afternoon, the speeds were markedly reduced and the wind and rain were now easily outpacing the car and trucks as they crawled in both directions down I-5. Radio traffic announcers seemed to be reporting Armageddon as the list of congested and flooded roadways grew longer and longer.

Meanwhile, as the clock ticked, Monday Night Football threatened to utterly constipate downtown Seattle. I decided I'd better begin my escape before the bomb fully went off.

As my luck would have it, my bus was apparently a victim of unseen traffic and so realizing I was on the verge of missing the boat, I hopped the nearest bus that would get me downtown and hoped for the best as I watched my cell phone displaying the unstoppable time.

Downtown traffic was already bad. Hope faded. I decided to free myself from King County Transit early and I bolted down Seneca, meandering and criss-crossing my way in accordance with the pedestrian signage. I worked my way over to the passenger ramp near the federal building on Marion and then ran under the perilously endangered viaduct (so they say) and over Alaska Way to the Ferry Terminal.

I was encouraged to see cars still loading and so I picked up the pace as I entered the building. Then out the backdoors and down the ramp. No sooner had I stepped aboard the ship than the gate was shut and the engines revved - it was as if they had been waiting for me.

Despite the rain, I remained outside looking back at the towering city and the illumined stadium to the south. It was a pretty sight, I must admit, but I felt a profound sense of relief for having escaped it. In the details of the scene I could see the snarled traffic and I could hear the deafening noise, both of which I knew would soon escalate into full scale urban chaos. Escaped...I was tempted to continue standing in the rain and raising my hands into the air: The Seattle-shank Redemption.

I turned west and moved to the front of the boat, and now we are cruising along, rocking and rolling our way through the white caps of a stormy Puget Sound. I cannot see the city anymore.

Almost home.