The morning was not cold but I had a jacket on just in case. I was dropped off at the bus station about 5 minutes prior to my calculated time to catch the bus at this bus stop. There was a younger couple in a car that seemed to be making out at 6:45 am and I presumed one of them was waiting for the bus. There were also two short Hispanic ladies waiting for the bus with me as well. I had arrive early as the bus times posted are only for main stopping points so one needs to guesstimate the time the bus arrives in between main stops at the smaller bus stalls. The bus I was hoping to catch was the #1 which leaves from a main stop prior to my stall pickup at 6:42.I arrived at approximately 6:45 at my little stop and my timing was perfect for the bus picked me up at 6:48 am.
After the two ladies got on the bus, I got on and proceeded to try and swipe my card. Already I was doing it wrong. The older bus driver with a pony tail said “no no you have to validate it first in this slot” as he pointed to another part of the machine. I apologized and indicated that I had not done this before, but he did not seem to care and gestured to me as I said good morning. As I walked back I heard the bus driver say "I'm not waiting, she's always late", but he did. It was the girl from the couple who was making out in the care.
The bus was relatively empty maybe ½ dozen people so I headed to the back noting no bus stench which was refreshing. The bus darted off east bound for the next stop. At the next stop a few people got on. A well dressed heavy lady who sat in the front, a couple of what I presumed were teens and an older Hispanic man who sat in the back with my. The very back has a row of four seats and we were on opposite sides. I was on the south side. The older Hispanic man hung his freshly dry cleaned clothes on the hand rail near the top of the bus. 2 short sleeve plaid shirts and khakis. His gray hair was short and well trimmed as was his oversized grayed mustache. He wore dark wraparound shades even though it was still not totally light out and had 2 sleeves of tattoos. I could tell he was a solder of the streets and most likely had did some time at some point as indicated by his mannerism and tattoos. The woman who got on was already asleep resting her head on her bright yellow blouse in the front and both the teens that got on had headphones in their ears.
There was a nice breeze that went through the bus as went ventured from stop to stop picking up more teenagers, middle school kids, college people, and nursing student’s, trade workers etc. I read out of my public policy book trying to focus back on my dissertation, but casually noted some other things on the ride. I noticed that when we arrived at the city college stop about 2/3 of the passengers got off and I suspected that the large number of other college age people would stay on until the end, which was at the university.
The rest of the ride was uneventful and I was able to finish up a chapter I was reading prior to our arrival at 7:57. There was just enough time for me to get off the bus, walk about 25 yards to the corner of the station and into the building directly in front of (or behind depending on where you are located and facing) the main bus terminal in downtown. I was in my seat at work at exactly 8:01 am. Mission accomplished relatively unscathed.
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