Everyday

-Kiba Kemp

Everyday, you'll notice, if you take the same bus/train route, even though it is rather routine, everyday something new happens. I take the 147 Street Express bus to and from work, and it never fails that there might be something new to happen everyday.

Everyday, there is someone in front of me who just can't believe that it cost an extra quarter to ride from the downtown area. None of us know why that is-some surcharge I imagine, but we all know it exists and we have to pay it. And there is always someone who has been taking the bus "for years now, and can't understand why it costs so much money !!" When they were "growing up, it was only seventy-five cents to get an all-day transfer on Sundays!"

So now that I have sat down next to the one person who finds it necessary to tell me about their dog who can't go out in the fall season because it is scared of leaves- I look up and find that I must have something directly on my face that every one needs to look at right now, because all eyes are on me. I didn't know that I became a celebrity overnight but apparently I am the only thing people can find to look at at the moment.

But it happens everyday.

As the bus gets more and more crowded in the time span of about three minutes, I have only been hit by two briefcases and one gym bag of some person who needs to be headed for the showers as opposed to adding more BO in a hot sweaty gym. That is an improvement, the bruise that still exists from last week when the people think carrying a shower rod on the bus and turning quickly to see why the busdriver called him (because he put his money in the card slot and his card in the money slot) wouldn't cause injury to SOMEONE just couldn't take another hit.

But it never fails, there always something new everyday.

One day there was a person who couldn't for the life of her, find which seat to sit in. Now I realize there are things to take into consideration when distinguishing the proper seat to plop down on; when you'll be getting off next, how many bags you are lugging, if the window is open -whatever. As I watched her migrate from one seat to another, obviously taking into consideration everything mentioned earlier, it dawned on me that it can't be that deep. We will all be on this bus from Chicago Ave., until Peterson Street probably finding ourselves looking at every face on the bus, glaring at the next person who so much as coughs and where you sit may only put you on display for longer, so who cares, just sit down!

Everyday. Something new.

Now that I know the kind of leaves her dog is scared of (evidently the maple leaves are the most daunting) it is time for me to get off. Having dozed off and now awake, I didn't realize the bus was so brightly lit. As the colors fluorescent lights can produce with tired eyes frolic with my pupils,I remember yesterday. Yesterday, the bus driver didn't know how to turn off the air conditioning in thirty degree weather because it was his first time on this route and these buses are "different." Today, I had to take my coat off to the obvious distaste of the person next to me, because I only assumed they put in heat lamps to counter act the extreme cold of the temperature outside, what else could explain the foot high sediment of condensation developed on the windows that has soaked into the left side of my jacket?

As the bus driver tests his brakes over and over trying to stop at the bus stop I did not ring the bell for, jerking the bus until everyone left standing has sprained an ankle or something...

Whew! I'm home. Only to realize I put $10.00 on my bus pass before I got on and at the last reading it said $ .10.

Everyday it is something NEW.


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