Ode to Bus 54 - July 10, 2008

My good friend Jessica was inspired to begin her blog while riding the 54 Bus in Washington, DC. She always told me about it and I never got myself together to read it. As much as I love email, I find I am often hesitant to move onto all of the other things the Internet holds. I just recently began online shopping...I know, I'm an old lady at heart.

The bus54 blog is currently home to Dispatches from Bolivia which motivated me to be an avid fan of the blog. Phone calls to Bolivia weren't really an option so reading the weekly posts was the best way to stay connected with all of Jessica's adventures. But after my month and a half of commuting via Miami's very interesting public transportation system, I think I was probably missing out on bus54.

Thanks to the rising cost of gasoline, increased parking costs and the legacy of the wedding of my dreams (ask VISA about it), I gave up driving to work and began taking the bus. For those of you who enjoy people watching, let me tell you, the bus is the perfect place to really cultivate your people watching skills...and probably your storytelling as well. You begin to see the same people each day. You see their outfits, where they get on and off and overhear snippets of their lives as they talk on the phone or surprisingly, to each other (yes, strangers).


The most interesting characters so far:

- This man who looked like he was dropped right out of the '80's....like a retired pimp who'd been through some things. He had on those old school air force ones with a mustard yellow Nike check and a matching yellow jumpsuit! Dark shades and a gold chain rounded out the look and I wondered, where could he be going?

- The woman with a voice box who actually spoke to me - Outside of those Truth campaign commercials, I'd never really seen the voice box (I know there's a medical name for it) in person. So that in itself caused some staring (thank God for sunglasses). But then, she put her hand to her neck and spoke to me! It really does sound like a robot. Where could she be going and what is it like to go there everyday and have to work in that condition?

- "When I do XYZ, I can get into my dream school, Devry University. Once I get in there, I'm set, that's where all of the millionaire companies hire from." Who calls Devry their dream school? This is a far cry from my GW classmates and a true testament to the value of advertising. After thinking about it though, it's also a true testament to the elitism I feel...I mean really, how dare I question or gawk at a young man (a young black man) who's trying to get an education. Who am I to judge the quality of that education?

- Pajama Lady - now I know I've been known to go out and have a little too much cleavage but this woman literally had on a night gown! She was very chatty with her fellow commuters - she cleans houses and her husband works at Wendy's - she was at least 40. And as I sat there coming to my own conclusions about how she dressed and what her life must be like, the bus driver was trying to kick a high school kid off the bus. He looked 15 or 16 and had paid 75 cents, the student fare. But he had no student ID to show so pajama lady gives him a dollar - "here you go baby boy. I don't want you to have to get off the bus. Just remember your ID next time OK sweetheart?" Another lesson in humility for me.