Making Use of Time

Regarding “Filling the Empty Hours Between Getting There and Being There” (Her World, May 20): In New York City, my hometown, the way to make a bus come is to light a cigarette. Not a puff later, the transit arrives. Now that we’ve all quit smoking, we don’t make buses materialize anymore and must learn patience and other coping techniques.

To dispel the angst of waiting, subtle exercises are best, the kind that won’t have fellow travelers quietly distancing themselves from you: cannonball rolls for your neck, shrugs for your shoulders, carpal tunnel exercises for your wrists and fingers. Keep a sonnet in your wallet and memorize it.

The best technique is speaking to a stranger or asking a child about her favorite video game.

AIDA PAVLETICH

Los Angeles