Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Bus Stop

In a recent post, Dawn talks about breaking out of her comfort zone by taking a new way downtown. I'm thinking her message is that breaking out of our comfort zones is a good thing to do, a way of expanding our horizons and experiencing new things.

I'm not too sure of that.

You see, about 3 pregnancies ago, I had to take a bus downtown for a medical appointment. Now, I hadn't been on the bus in years - not since, it turns out, they replaced the old-fashioned fare boxes with the ones that you carefully slide your money into so it can be electronically counted (you know, like a vending machine). I had never gotten the memo about this sea change in paying for mass transit; so I boarded my bus and blithely crammed 2 dollar bills into the box at once, the way I had years before.

The bus driver, apparently shocked speechless as I manhandled her fare box, managed to choke out, "I can't believe you did that" as she picked up her radio and called wherever it is that bus drivers call when a passenger with obvious bus fare hostility issues boards her vehicle. The incredulous look on her face I could take; what alarmed me more were the looks on the other passengers' faces (seasoned commuters all) as we filed off that bus and waited in the early morning cold and dark for a new bus, a bus whose electronic fare box had not yet been vandalized by an apparent idiot.

Let's just say that it is a good thing that no one had a rope handy. And I'm permanently cured of broadening my horizons.



Not really relevant, but it does have the words "bus stop" in it. Certainly none of my fellow passengers would have been willing to share an umbrella with me...

14 comments:

  1. I love that song, so at least something good came out of this traumatic memory.

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  2. So funny! I'l bet you have a file on you now!

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  3. I miss my bus and train days. You could read, listen to music, make new friends nap, eat, and, if you could judge by the smell off the occasional car, pee. All on the way to your destination. Very convenient

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  4. ok I give up. So what is the correct way to pay? The last time I took a bus was in 1980. So sad.

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  5. I would've done the exact.same.thing with the dollar bills (is it 2 now????!!) if I were to ride the bus today.

    You did nothing wrong. They were wrong for not letting you know and anticipating your move. HA!

    I also love this song, especially the part "love grows...under my umbrella" and "someday my name and hers are going to be the same."

    So dang sweet...

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  6. I make my husband handle it all now. Pregnant or not pregnant, I'd probably mess it up!

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  7. Imagine if you hadn't been on a plane in years. I remember smoking on a plane in 1996.

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  8. I have been on a bus once, it was a game day football shuttle. It had the 'cram-in' style box. Of course, that was also nearly 13 years ago.

    Isn't it called a 'comfort zone' for a reason? The older I get, the smaller my comfort zone gets, but, I have no desire to push those boundaries.

    (and I love that song)

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  9. I can only imagine. It's a surprise you didn't decide to walk. I have great memories of riding the bus with my grandmother when I was little--but since then? Basically never.

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  10. Thank you for the warning, because I would have had utterly no idea! I haven't ridden a bus since 1977.

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  11. They DESERVED to have that happen to them! Let them close up a hole where you can cram things into already. I rode the bus all the time in NYC. I miss it. Great place to daydream and look at the world.

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  12. I confess: boarding and paying my fare is what scares me about riding a bus. Always has, always will.

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  13. Obviously they don't design the fare box for new users - I think that's why a lot of folks don't try new things like riding the bus---because they don't know what to do and they're made to feel like idiots when they guess wrong. In many regions, that's what you STILL do when you get on a bus - cram money into the slot.

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