Almost as much fun as riding the bus itself is the expression I get when I tell people that is how I get to and from work these days. Some people are shocked and look at me like I’m an alien, others worry for my safety, but those who really know me are not surprised in the least. Some are even jealous! And it is at their request that I start this blog. Join me on my journey, won’t you?
I decided to ditch my car for work transportation for several reasons-- not the least of which is the rising cost of gas—but also because my car is old, I travel 60 plus miles round trip, my a/c refuses to work for longer than 2 weeks at a time, and I just plain like the adventure of it all. Here’s the drill-- at 6:50ish I leave my house in Fairhope and drive to the Hardees (less than a mile away) to catch the BRATS bus. I’m often the first person on the bus, giving me a chance to enjoy small talk with Lamar, the morning driver. I’m joined by a handful of freshly showered professionals and their iPads. I know a couple of their names- and I expect before too long I’ll be joining in their conversations about Fairhope politics, college football and such. My first week there was even a baby shower onboard for an expectant mom who is part of “the group.” There’s usually no worry that anyone will take the seat next to me until we pick up the other professionals in Daphne and Spanish Fort. Occasionally there will be the environmentally conscious bicycle rider, but they are rare. We travel in comfort and quiet conversations across the bay and into Bienville Square by 7:45. Once off the bus, the professionals disappear into their respective office buildings, and I am on my own, making my trek to my second bus of the morning.
The Wave city busses are awesome. Completely 180 degrees opposite of the BRATS busses, but just as much (if not more) fun. There is no driver/rider conversation, but the passengers carry on delightfully loud banter amongst themselves. Bus number 1 (to Providence) slows down to allow me to board across the street from the Government Plaza at 8:05, about a 5 minute walk from the Square. This means lots of extra time to absorb the life around me. The sounds and smells and sights of a busy downtown getting ready for another workday. I sit at a bench at the bus stop and can’t take my eyes off of the passersby. Some racing to get to work, others sauntering along, hoping just to get by. Occasionally someone I’ve never met will sit next to me, and tell me (in all seriousness!) that he heard Ronald Reagan is running for president again this year. Other times someone will silently take the seat next to me and avoid any kind of interaction at all.
Bus 12 comes by, then my bus number 1. I board and begin my search for a seat before the bus takes off and I go lurching forward. Or backward, depending on which way I’m facing. The faces are beginning to look familiar to me now after a couple of weeks, and the ones I don’t recognize I rarely see again. I love trying to figure out where the random riders are going, and what they will be doing with their day. And why they never ride the bus at the same time.
On Bus number 1 there are no iPads, but plenty of iPhones, and lively phone conversations. I am 90% of the time the only Caucasion, and I think I present just as much a mystery to the regular riders as they do to me. Even with our differences, everyone is always helpful, moving over to offer me a seat, and making sure I know how to signal the driver to stop where I need to get off.
My adventure continues as I leave the bus with a couple of others and head for the Festival Center parking lot. The others are students at Remington College, and have a much shorter walk than I. The trek from Airport Blvd to the Montlimar office building is only a half mile, but it is the longest and scariest leg of my journey, because no one else actually walks from the shopping center to the office, and I feel a bit out of place.
The trip from the middle of Mobile back to Fairhope is much the same as the morning commute, with one fabulous exception. There is a woman on the city bus I absolutely adore. I actually look forward to seeing, and especially hearing, her each day! She is the unofficial leader of the afternoon bus, the Alpha Rider if you will. She is opinionated, loud, and will call you out if you dress like a ho. I love her!!
I leave the city bus where I got on it in the morning, at the Government Plaza. For the first time in my life I regularly use the crosswalks now to get from one side of Government to the other, and it’s quite a thrill. I take a leisurely stroll through downtown, LODA, and end up at the BRATS bus, waiting for me at the Square. We leave Mobile at 5:10, then stop in Spanish Fort and Daphne before we end our ride in Fairhope at 6.
So there you have it. The basics of my daily commute. But it’s never the same ride twice, as you’ll see in upcoming entries…
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