Adventures in Public Transportation

I sold my car in December. At first it was liberating. No more insurance, registration, traffic , tickets, the dreaded red and blue lights in my rear view mirror, accidents, parking, tow away zones, worrying about it getting broken into, oil changes, costly maintenance and repairs, squeaky breaks, bald tires. None of that. I slept a little better the night.

I looked up the local bus routes and decided that it would be a refreshing challenge to utilize my cities public transportation system. I told myself I was doing it for the environment to make myself feel a little greener, a little more "hip". I have learned some interesting things about living car free. Mainly that it sucks. Its taken my all of this time to finally admit this. Here are a few reasons why I now despise riding the bus and am currently saving my pennies for a shiny new car.

Bus drivers are mean!!! They are miserable people. I once was yelled out for a whole bus ride for being a quarter short of the fair. I try to be as nice as I can be to these drivers and they still use every chance they get to be absolute a holes. They act like its my fault that they never finished college.

The waiting!!! This will really test your patience. I have spent hours waiting at freezing bus stops

checking the time, wondering if I was waiting for a bus that already came. Watching all of the cool people drive by in their serene little bubbles listening to their stereos, zipping around, laughing it up as I waited and waited hoping no one I knew would spot me pacing around the bus stop like a bum. I recommend bringing a good book or a handheld video game , a crossword puzzle, anything that will distract you from the humbling experience.

Its dangerous. I work in a bad neighborhood and missed my usual bus home one evening. As a result I had to hang around a shady block watching people buy and sell drugs, piss on the streets, and cuss and fight. When I finally got on the bus it was packed with shifty looking characters who all seemed to have their eyes fixed on my purse. I sat there imagining what weapons each of them were concealing. I spent the whole ride tense and regretting not purchasing a can of mace. It took me across the tracks to places I have only seen in crime movies. I was so happy to be home that night. I could finally relax after patting myself down making sure I wasn't bleeding from some unknown puncture wound and checking to make sure I still had my wallet.

Catching the wrong one can mess up your whole schedule. I have boarded the wrong bus on several occasions and ended up in strange places. I ended up being 2 hours late to work several times just because of one wrong move. One laps in clarity when one of those a hole bus drivers failed to give me the right routes.

So in conclusion, the bus is a great alternative to an automobile for a very short time. At first it can be somewhat exciting and feel like a mini adventure. I do not recommend relying only on buses. Its not impossible to get around without a car but you will annoy the heck out of your friends, bumming rides gets old , and riding the bus is exhausting.

much love,
Judas

Advice on a train

Riding the train cross country was truly an experience. The people you meet, the places you experience, the smells you take in even the extremes in weather. What was facinating about taking a train is the sense of community. It was like stepping into a neighborhood from another era. The people were so friendly and open (probably due to the fact that you won't see these people ever again). I sat next to an older black woman from Georgia and she told me about her husband who had passed away earlier that year. She gave me advice on how to keep my husband happy and I remember her telling me that "you should never let anyone into your bedroom even your children" & "your bedroom is sacred and meant for intimacy" she also told me to "never go to bed angry, stay up and fight".

I sat next to a number of people and even other peoples children which I thought was strange. If I had a child I would want to keep them as close as possible and I certainly wouldn't want them sitting/sleeping next to a stranger in another part of the train. I guess given my innocent face they figured I would probably watch them and keep them from harm -which I did.

I sat next to a 17 year old boy who was from one of those states that starts with an M. He was on his way to live with his brother in New York or Maryland where he was going to try to get into some private school to become a minister and also compete in a yoyo competition (I never knew yoyoing was a competetive sport). He was very interesting to me because first of all he was the first attractive person I had sat next to in my two weeks riding the train. It also helped that he entertained me with yoyo tricks. He was very tall, with big hands, pouty lips, brown curly hair and naturally tan skin.

We talked a lot and watched a movie on a viewer I had rented at the Union Station in Chicago. Of course our conversation turned to sex and him saving himself for his future wife. I thought it would be so romantic to save yourself for marriage and the idea of this attractive guy actually doing that made like him even more. I gave him the best advice I could for the big night when ever it may be and he gave me some good pointers on how to perform "the ferris wheel" with a yoyo he gave me.

The people on the train are one of kind. It was fun talking to people knowing I would never see them again after they or I boarded another train in another direction. I often wonder about everyone I talked to or observed on the train. How the family reunion was was for the elderly black woman from Georgia, if the children had similar memories to mine from the train and if the 17yr old ever gave into the temptations of a girlfriend.