While we're on the topic of knives and greyhounds

It's funny how you forget about things that happen to you until your memory is triggered, by the media or someone else's story or even just a similar feeling.

Back in my Commercial Drive days, I was riding a city bus when a guy holding aloft a large kitchen knife tried to share my ride.

He looked like he wandered out of a busy kitchen somewhere nearby. He was dressed simply, and clearly very stunned out. In my imagination, I thought maybe he had been cutting carrots for 18 hours straight, then walked away from his counter and decided to go home, knife in hand. That would be the amusing version, and probably the truth.

Except now he was on a city bus, my city bus, holding erect a large, sharp kitchen knife. The driver asked him to leave. But instead he stepped into the bus walked down the aisle.

Everyone froze, eyes huge, watching that knife.

I was near the back door. It's amazing how you can move without actually going anywhere. My body went cold and I slowly, imperceptibly started shrinking closer to the sides of the bus. So did everyone else. In total silence. Nobody wanted to stand out more than anyone else.

He continued walking down the aisle, vacant eyed, knife in hand. Toward me, and everyone else near the back of the bus.

And then he walked out the back door and went away.