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The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 9:25. A man sat in his
car near the terminal and ate a doughnut. He had a cup of coffee in a
travel mug and a newspaper on the dashboard. He looked at his watch.
 The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 9:25. It was 9:15. A
man sat in his car near the terminal and carefully wiped doughnut crumbs from
his shirt and pants. It was an older car. He wiped the crumbs to the floor.
While he was wiping he looked down at his pants. His pants made a lap. He
wiped the crumbs from his lap to the floor of the car. He looked up at the
clock in the dashboard and then he looked at his watch.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 9:25. It was 9:21. A
man opened his car door and partially stepped out. He had one foot outside
the car and was flicking crumbs from his right pant leg. He flicked them
using an OK sign with his right thumb and forefinger. He made the OK sign
into a spring. The sound of the flick the springing OK sign made came from
his pant leg and his leg. The crumb itself fell silently to the floor of the
car. When he had flicked the last crumb he reached into his jacket vest
pocket for his ferry pass. Then he picked up his newspaper from the
dashboard
and stepped all the way out of the car. He closed the car door without
looking at it. He was looking at the ferry.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 9:25. It was 9:23. A
man walked away from a car near the terminal. He walked toward the land end
of the walkway between the terminal and the ferry at the water end of the
pier. The pier for the ferry had a very long walkway, a very long walkway
indeed. Enormous diesel engines pointed the ferry at the pier and held it
there. The engines were very loud, even at the other end of the long walkway
near the terminal.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 9:25. A man at the
beginning of the walkway looked at the ferry. The way he looked at the ferry
this time was as if he were seeing it for the first time. His eyes had a big
look of surprise. He began to run. He had his newspaper in one hand. He
waved his newspaper at the rope handler standing where the ferry was held
against the pier. He wrapped his lips over his teeth and made a sharp
whistle. He waved his newspaper in the air and shouted something that might
have been "Wait for me!" The engines were very loud as they held the ferry
against the pier. The engines were so loud they made the air vibrate.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 9:25. It was 9:25. A
man who had been running down the walkway jumped over the slight gash in the
surface on which he ran. The gash was a piece of nothing at all between the
ferry and the pier. Enormous diesel engines pointed the ferry at the pier
and
held it there so that the gash was very slight. The nothing at all that it
was might have been a drop into the water, but because it was a slight gash
of
nothing it could be stepped over without dropping into the water. It was not
necessary to jump over the gash. This was not only because of the engines
holding
the ferry at the pier but also because of the rope handler.
A man who had been running down the walkway jumped over the gash just as the
rope handler let go of the rope and then he ran with his newspaper in his
hand
across the car deck and up the stairs and into the seating area where there
were people sitting and reading or writing. He had a red face and he was
breathing more than anyone in the seating area. Cold wind came with him into
the seating area making people look up with their eyes from what they were
reading or writing. The man the people were looking at slapped his newspaper
against his pant leg where it made a sound the people seemed to recognize as
a
newspaper slapped against a pant leg; that is, they were not frightened by it
but a little bit excited by it. He looked into one face and then another.
He
said, "I made it!" in a loud, happy sounding voice. The people smiled at him
because they were happy for him and some of them may have remembered that
they
had not always made it in the past. Then they looked down again. He sat
down
in the seating area of the ferry while it crossed Puget Sound and he sat in
the same general place but facing another direction while it came back again
one half hour later. When the rope handler had the rope in place and the
enormous diesel engines were pointing the ferry at the pier and holding it
there, he picked up his newspaper and left the seating area, descended the
stairway to the car deck and walked up the long walkway to the terminal.
Then
he went to his car parked near the terminal and got in.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 10.25. A man sat in
his
car near the terminal and looked at his watch. He had a newspaper on the
dashboard.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 10:25. It was 10:05.
A
man sat in his car near the terminal. It was an older car. He looked at the
clock in the dashboard and then he looked at his watch.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 10:25. It was 10:21.
A
man opened his car door and stepped out. He reached into his jacket vest
pocket for his ferry pass. Then he picked up his newspaper from the
dashboard
and stepped out of the car. He closed the car door without looking at it.
He
was looking at the ferry.
The ferry was scheduled to pull away from the pier at 10:25. It was 10:23.
A
man walked away from a car near the terminal. He walked toward the land end
of the walkway between the terminal and the ferry at the water end of the
pier. The pier for the ferry had a very long walkway, a very long walkway
indeed. Enormous diesel engines pointed the ferry at the pier and held it
there. The engines were very loud, even at the other end of the long walkway
near the terminal. He seemed to be listening to the sound of the engines.
The engines were so loud they made the air vibrate.
He looked down the long walkway to the gash of nothing at all between the
pier
and the ferry. The ferry was held in place so it was only a slight gash. It
was not necessary to jump over the gash. This was not only because of the
engines holding the ferry at the pier but also because of the rope handler.
He slapped his newspaper against his pant leg where it made a sound he seemed
to recognize as a newspaper slapped against a pant leg; that is, he was not
frightened by it but a little bit excited by it. He looked at the ferry.
The
way he looked at the ferry this time was as if he were seeing it for the
first
time. His eyes had a big look of surprise.
He began to run. He had his newspaper in one hand. He waved his newspaper
at
the rope handler standing where the ferry was held against the pier. He
wrapped his lips over his teeth and made a sharp whistle.
He had an inexhaustible supply of himself.
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