And the Score is....

There's a lot of things to do when bells ring--go to class, wake up, answer the door, see angles get their wings, or you can do what Jim Andrews and Don Jutila do. Well, let me back you up a bit. We needed to get from Wangfujing which is next to the Forbidden City in central Beijing to the 4th ring road on the outskirts of town. I was thinking Sunday night at 9:00 there would be a lot of room available on the train. As we got to the platform, my expectations were accurate as there were only a couple dozen other people wanting to get on. I heard the train in the distance coming and people began getting ready to go. We were standing with our roommates so no one would get left behind. As the subway rolled in the first cars were crammed with people and I was expectant of the latter ones having space. As the train stopped, I stared at a sea of black haired people who had to be looking out the window saying, "you have got to be kidding me if these people think they can fit on this." The girls seemed to be getting in without much problem and the first boys were barely getting on. I, though, used my gentle demeanor and lithe shape to nustle between two young teenagers who got their excursion into town interrrupted and and a businessman who didn't seem so eager to have a sweaty bodied American almost riding piggy-back on him. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Jim and Don still standing on the outside. Then the bell rang. Doors closing in about 5 seconds, a train heading off into the distance and two men who can say hello to anyone they meet and not much else, were going to be left standing in a place that no one knew existed or could find again. Well, they did what any two healthy American former-athletes would do, they made their surge. All I felt was a business man buried in one armpit, a teenage girl presseed up into my back and 60 able-bodied people get pushed aside as Jim and Don lowered shoulders and got on the train. The doors closed, Chinese people said something that is probably good that none of us understood, and the train moved on into the night. America-2, China-0.
Serving Him Well.
Steve and the team