The Cocoon

The Cocoon. That's about what it looks like, I imagine. I have to imagine because I'm the only one who builds their cocoon each trip. Maybe it looks silly. Do I sound like I care what people think about me? Ok, a little...still. My Mother always said "When you're 20 you worry about what people think about you, and when you're 40 you stop worring, and when you're 60 you realize that everyone was too busy worrying about what YOU thought about THEM to think about you". Well, I'm after 40 and before 60.

It's a science, really...the cocoon. You see, bus temperatures fluctuate dramatically. That's what prompted my first prototype cocoon. It was simple...just my coat used as a blanket. But the cold air would sneak in the back...that was no good. So I found a way to swing the zipper part around my back and quickly lean back on them and effectively stop the draft. Brilliant...g'nite.

But, alas, then came summer. That's when it REALLY gets cold. Most people don't understand this, but for some reason the bus driver thinks that in the winter the bus should be 75 and in the summer the bus should be 68. Never really figured that one out. Seems to me like 75 is good year round. What do I know. So the cold air is blasting out over my head but my first line of defense is in place...only now my legs are getting cold! Yes, it's just that cold. For a while I tried bringing two coats, but in the summer that really looks stupid (I regress back to my 20's and start caring with no warning). So WalMart (China) gets a few of my dollars and I buy a fleece throw blanket, not too big, not too small. And it rolls up and fits in the backpack (a whole nother article, the back pack).

So now the blanket keeps my legs nice and warm. And the trick is the same...imagine. You tuck the blanket in under your legs and it serves two purposes...it keeps your legs from flopping around on those sharp curves and it acts as a good defroster. G'nite.

Lastly is the pillow. Inflatable. Black. $5. Inflatable is important because it deflates (duh) and also because you can set it to just the right "number". Low tech, but effective. Every bus has different seats and each seat has a different pillow comfort number. It's one of those "U" shaped pillows, and it has a picture of some guy (I bet HE's embarassed... he's 20 something) and he puts it around his NECK! I tried it that way...once. Your head flopps around...kind of missing the point. So if you make it an upside down U then it looks normal, but doesn't work well. So the only logical way is to make a right side up U. People say it looks upside down, but remember...between 40 and 60. Comfort is King, and I'm the King of Comfort on the bus.

Tomorrow is Monday, and I'm looking forward to my cocoon!