On the bus of life...

I really should be working, because, afterall, I have some work to do, but why start when you're... wait a minute....

Jo says: "If you're not ready for rejection, you're not ready to date." Don't worry; I'm fine now. I just thought that was really, extremely wise. :-)

Last Friday night I road AC Transit for the first time in a while. I can't stress enough how important it is for we transportation planners (and planners in general) to ride the bus. There was a little tiny girl on the bus alone; she looked like she was about 8 years old. She sat next to the bus driver.
Driver: Where are you going?
Girl: I don't know.
The bus pulled up to a stop, at 39th Street, and girl began to alight.
D: What street is that?
G: 39th
D: Remember that. That's your stop next time someone asks.
Thank Goddess we have bus drivers out there looking after our children. I am reminded of another time, on SF Muni, when a woman in a totally crazy outfit was telling the driver about what hard time she was having (rehab?). The bus driver suggested she go to church. The woman said she had trouble finding a church that wasn't too judgemental, and the driver began to suggest a few. After a few more exchanges, the woman said something like "You know, we really rely on you for guidance. Life is really hard, and without you there to help guide us, I think a lot of us would be completely lost." (I wrote it down at the time, but now it is coming from memory. I might check my notebook and add the actual quote later.)

Today, bus drivers out our Ministers. They are our guardians. Our shephards. We could be lost in the mountains of urban kaos without them. Let's start a bus driver appreciation day. Maybe I will write a book about it.

I rode the 43 bus from downtown Oakland to outer El Cerrito (Carolyn's house), and unbelievably, it was quite pleasant. Unlike BART, it was clean and on-time. Unlike Muni, there were no crazy people yelling. Unlike riding my bicycle, I just sat there and watched the cities go by without a worry entering my mind.