No More Bus Riding

If you watch "Two and a Half Men" you may recall the episode where Judith tells Alan that she is getting married. He closes the door and Charlie counts down "5, 6, 7, 8..." and Alan does the happy dance and sings "NO MORE ALIMONY. NO MORE ALIMONY."

That is the way I feel right now.

Two weeks ago a lady at church asked me if there was any reason I didn't have a car and I explained things to her. She told me she was going to be getting a new car and if I wanted to I could buy her old car. I told her I would think about it. That Thursday she told me that she had indeed got a new car already and had I thought about it? and if so what was my answer?

We talked details and I agreed to buy her car.

Because of the MLK Jr weekend and DMV being closed on Friday as well as Monday I was unable to do anything over the weekend. But, this week I have been busy.

Tuesday I took off work early and sat at DMV and got my licence renewed. It has been expired since Dec 2007 (I didn't know it until Oct 2008!!!). I only missed 1 question on the written test, passed the eye "EXAM" (what a joke), took a WONDERFUL (YEAH RIGHT!) picture, and got my temporary licence.

Yesterday I went online and started the process of getting insured, both for me and Charlie on the policy. I had to call and get the VIN from the owner today. I made my first insurance payment and printed out my temporary insurance ID cards.

I am both nervous and excited!!! Oh, and tomorrow I get to drive up the hill and take Charlie to Young Adult retreat, and he wants to drive part of the way (of course).

In His Loving Arms...

Another Post about Riding the Bus

Ok. This is another post about riding the bus. But it is not about ME!

I am writing this at the library, which I got to by taking the bus, but that is the only thing about this that I am actually involved in. I am just an observer... really.

I got off the bus and was standing at the corner waiting to cross the road that heads towards the library. While I was waiting there two teen boys were waiting at the other side of the cross walk, waiting to cross towards me. As we all were standing there waiting another bus, the 23, had to stop at the same light, going the same direction as the boys were.

I saw the boys waving and gesturing to the bus as if saying "HEY! HI! We need to get on this bus... Over there !!!" I don't know if the bus driver saw them, but I did and I am going to assume for arguments' sake that the bus driver DID see the boys.

Well the bus was in the left turn lane, which would get the green light BEFORE the boys would... The light changed, the bus and other cars (two lanes worth) made the turn. The bus pulled up to the bus-stop and on/off loaded passengers.

The boys, as soon as they got the go-ahead, ran, hauled-butt, across the street, even cutting the corner in order to get to the bus. They were RUNNING!!!! Another guy was standing next to me by this time, and we watched them run, and laughed sort of in encouragement.

The driver pulled away.... leaving the boys in the "natural gas" fumes.

I looked in disbelief at the guy crossing the road with me. We both shook our heads. I could NOT believe it. "Oh, man. Damn, that sucks. You know he saw them." We did that little chuckle people do when they can't believe it. And then we parted ways.

I hope Karma kicks the bus driver for that one.

"People on the bus go blah blah blah, blah blah blah"

I am getting very tired of riding the bus. It is not the bus ride, nor the amount of time it takes to get from point A to point B.

I am having trouble dealing with the people who are:
a) inconsiderate,
b) rude,
c) vile,
d) obnoxious,
e) smelly,
f) drunk,
g) loud,
.....and/or.....
h) all of the above.



Yesterday I got a contact high from the youngsters at the back of the bus. I got to hear about the friend of the wife of one man, who is institutionalized because of her psychotic behavior. I got to hear EMINEM blasting from a young man's ear-drum busting headphones. And I can handle EMINEM, I just feel there is a time and place for everything and on a busy bus is not that time/place.


But, on Saturday was the SMILING, racist bigot. This woman was smiling as she spouted her hatred to everyone on the bus, peppering her dialogue with "Biblical" quotes. I quoted the word Biblical because they were clearly her own interpretation of the Bible.


When I first got on the bus I went to the first available seat, which happened to be just behind this woman. She was turned in her seat and talking to a man across the aisle. I thought they may be friends. She was asking him about the ring that he was wearing and he told her that his girlfriend bought it for him for Christmas. She said it was a beautiful thing, and told him that in the Bible the women are always the one who bought jewels for their men, so it was nice to see that tradition continuing.

Then this Asian woman got up and went to the back doors of the bus, getting ready to get off at the next stop. The racist started commenting on "oh that's a nice coat you have on honey, so glad that we could buy that for you.. what happened to the car that we gave you dear? oh.. well, sayonara dear, yeah bye bye"...

The Asian woman turned around like "are you talking to me".... confused look on her face, she looked at me and I just shook my head like "let it go, she is CRAZY" ... then she got off the bus.

The racist woman turned and was talking to no one in particular "yeah we let them come into this country with amnesty... they are rapists, killers, sodomites, adulterers... we let them in and expunge their records, give them everything and we let them go on do commit more rapes, more murders... take our jobs and our money.... "

Everyone was silent. Even me. I had a hard time not saying any thing but didn't want to feed into her ranting. The strange thing is that while she was spouting all this vileness she was smiling the whole time. She glanced around to see if she was getting any reactions and her eyes met mine. I just stared into her eyes, mine were silently daring her to say something directly to me.

I was getting off the bus at the next exit anyways. I was waiting for the barbs to come my way but she was silent as I exited. I guess I am white enough for her. I want to think that the woman has a mental issue, rather than just being naturally horrid on purpose.

Because we are all
In Jesus Loving Arms...

Bus Quote

"Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night."

-Glade Byron Addams

Great Quote

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."

-Oprah Winfrey

and I will add to that... "or will give you a ride instead of passing you by at the bus stop."

Sitting on a Bus Bench....

Remeber the old Jethro Tull song Aqualung?...

Sitting on a park bench --
eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose --
greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Drying in the cold sun --
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Feeling like a dead duck --
spitting out pieces of his broken luck.

Well, I have that first line going thru my head when I am SITTING ON THE BUS BENCH...

Last week I went to the store down the road, I take the bus there and then home again loaded down with my purchases.

While sitting there last week, it was dark already, and I was playing my cell phone.. you know like video games on the phone? and this car slows down as it passes by. This is nothing strange in and of itself because there is the turn into the grocery center right there, but this one stopped before the turn off.

I didn't pay much attention, figured they needed directions or a job flyer that was in the boxes by the bench. Two women approached me saying "Hi, my name is Sister So-And-So, and this is Sister Whats-Her-Name. We are missionaries with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Have you heard about our church, we would like to share with you."

I barely looked up from my phone, shook the woman's hand, and politely told her "Thanks but I have a church, have a nice night." They smiled, sort of, a little, grumbled a little, got back in their car and drove on to find the next lost person to convert.

As the women got in their car to people approached the bench and asked "what did they want?" and I told them, "They were going to tell me about their church, but I told them I have one already. I don't need a church. I NEED A CAR."

I sort of sat there the next 10-15 minutes til the bus came, chuckling to myself every few moments thinking about what I must look like sitting there for these two women to take the time and "save" this poor, pathetic women sitting there. I was dressed my usual style, which some have said resembles a bag-lady at times, jeans and shirt, I think I was actually wearing a nice new sweater that night; tennis shoes complete my outfit. I never wear make up, and my hair is very "wash and dry" friendly.

I was wondering if they stopped at every occupied bus stop, even the ones with the OBVIOUS homeless people, ones with the carts full of their possesions, multiple layers of clothing, ratty hair with the beanie pulled low, muttering to themselves. Do they stop and talk with the kind of men who are represented in the Jethro Tull song?? Or do they just stop and talk with the ones who are not quite as scary?? The maybe not homeless people but "look at that poor thing sitting on the bench" type of people.

The kids when I said the women were talking church wondered if they cared so much, maybe they should have asked me if they could give me a ride home??? I chuckled at that too.

BTW - out of the past 15 days that I could have ridden my bike to work I have done so 11 days!! Whoo-pee!! That's 66 miles in 3 weeks

I forever remain,
In His Loving Arms

Murder in the Burbs

This past Tuesday I got home from work and then set out for the grocery store. I was to catch the 5:50 bus #86 which would take me the few miles to the store. No trouble, the bus was a few minutes late but that was ok. I did a few stretches and curb-steps. Got on the bus and went to the store.

Now, mind you, I cant get a lot at the store because I have to carry what I get. The actual shopping took about 20 minutes total, standing in line about 7 more. I walked out to the bus stop. As I got closer the bus pulls up... I began to rush more because I was almost there, and if I missed the bus I would have to wait another 30 mins for the next one. Luckily the driver saw me and was kind enough to wait. Some don't. I climbed the steps, dropped my bags and hurried to find my bus pass in my bag... thanking the driver the whole time. Then I sat with a plop in the first seat. Luck was also on my side that the bus was not full of people and I did not have to search for a seat with all my bags.

I then organized the groceries. Put most of the items into my backpack/purse/bag thing. It is just easier to carry the load on my back rather than hanging from my arms.. Sigh.. I was ready to get home.

The bus was almost to my stop, I had just pulled the bell signalling my stop as next and I want to get off. The bus slowed in front of the complex. The stop is the next complex. I heard the bus driver say "What's going on????" Then I looked out the front window of the bus and ...

The entire road was blocked off with police cars, emergency vehicles of all sorts. Lights flashing, flares burning in the road. People sort of milling about. I told the driver I could just get off here because he was right in front of my apartments. I gathered my things and left the bus, looking towards the police vehicles, etc.

There was a security guard (for my complex) standing at the entry gate. I asked him "What happen? Did someone get hit by a car?"... this was the first thing that popped into my mind because there are always kids (and adults like me) who run back and forth from one side of the road to the other. And the cars fly down the road well over the posted speed limits.

The guard answered "No someone got shot."
"Oh ... My... God... " I answered, "are they hurt bad?"
"Yeah, dead."
"Was it a drive-by?"
"Don't know.. but there were about 8-10 shots fired, and he was dead when the police arrived"

I was a bit freaked out. I was gone for about 30-35 minutes, and someone got shot while I was at the store, and he was shot in pretty much the location I was standing for the bus. I walked quickly to the apartment and asked Charlie if he had heard any gun-shots. He hadn't but he listens to his music/tv loudly. I told him what was going on. He was on the phone with Grandma at the time and I grabbed his phone, told her what was going on, and asked her to check the tv to see if I had anything on it, because it was 630 and local news was on. She said nothing reported on the news about it yet.

Well, turns out the person who got shot was a 17-year-old kid. This boy went to school with my son, was in a class with him last year. Charlie knew him but not too well. The newspapers say that he was on the football team. Charlie said the rumor at school was that this boy had been in a few fights recently. Don't know what about or why, and that really does not matter anyways... Charlie said that apparently someone he had been in a fight with had shot him, other rumors were that the other kids father shot him... I don't know if anyone has been arrested or not.

My big concern here is our youth are not handling things. They have stress and problems in their life the way adults do, and maybe even more so. Charlie is always talking about revenge. We see it on tv. We read it in books. But, I always tell Charlie.. the answer is not in revenge. It doesn't solve anything but makes things worse. I tell him it is ok to be mad, angry, pissed.. but that he needs to deal with it because not everything in life is great, wonderful, perfect; he needs to deal with things as a child because he will need to know how to deal with the same type of things as an adult. AND REVENGE IS NOT THE ANSWER. It can only hurt others and yourself.

I wondered last night as I was talking with my dad about it if the person who fired that gun is feeling guilt and remorse. How is that person living with the fact that he took the easy road by pulling that trigger and killed another human being. It was a swift, probably in the heat of the moment, decision. What is he thinking about now, after the fact? Does he now regret the actions that will alter his life completly and has already altered the lives of so many others.

Not only did his actions hurt the person that he killed. It affected that persons family and friends. It hurt the neighborhood, schools and businesses nearby. It hurt the city and state and even the country. It is another wound of history. It may have only received a few short paragraphs in the local paper, and none in "world news"... but the affects are like that of throwing a rock in a puddle... It ripples and vibrates...

.... In His Loving Arms