Transportation Thursday #2

Ok....this is the first full week in a month and a half that I haven't taken the bus to work one time. Every week since mid-August, I have at least taken a ride on the JO at least once. However, this week I had to leave in the afternoon Monday to go to Manhattan for recruiting, then I was in Manhattan all day on Tuesday, I had to get home ASAP on Wednesday because I had people over at 6PM and had to get food ready and then tonight I met Lauren for dinner at 5:30. Then Friday, I'm only working 1/2 day because my work group is making the trip to the Liberty Corn Maize in the afternoon---so I have to drive there! BOO. But hopefully my schedule will calm down and the JO will be my main form of transportation again.

ANYWAYS...onto the point of this post, which is to re-live my stories on the JO. This week is a good one.

When I first started riding the bus, one of my biggest fears was that I was going to get on a bus that was going the wrong way and I was going to get stuck. For example, at the transfer station at 60th and Lamar, there are two lanes with all the same bus routes. One lane is full of buses that are going south and the other lane is going north. But unless you see the sign...you don't really know. And if it's your first time, you are just so nervous you want to find your bus route and get on, sit down, and start going!

Well, thank goodness that never ever happened to me. I was semi-smart enough to guess what side of the street I needed to stand on for me to go the right way and then at the transfer station I asked a lot of questions :) However, that is not the case with everyone.

A few weeks ago, I got on my normal A route to downtown at 7:22AM. Plopped my bag down, pulled out my Kindle and got in my "bus mode". Since I have been taking this route for awhile, the people are the bus have become familiar to me. So I notice when they are not there; I notice when new people get on the bus. This particular day, a well-dressed 30-something man gets on the bus. He's in slacks and a tie: not your typical JO rider's attire, so I immediately notice him. He sits across the aisle from me and gets on his Blackberry as he sits down.

The bus starts moving along. Through about three stop lights.....a few more turns.....at least 2.5-3 miles into the ride......he turns to me and says "OH MY GOD. Is this bus going North?" I answer yes it is...his eyes get really big. Then he reaches up, pulls the bell to indicate he wants to get off the bus. He immediately gets up, gets off the bus and off we go.

But I can't stop thinking about it. What happened to him? What exactly did he do? We were at least 2.5 miles from where his car was parked (most likely parked). So he either had to walk all the way back to his car and then drive to work from there- making him undoubtedly late to work. Or he called someone to come and pick him up...but that would take forever most likely for someone to come get him and then take him to his car and then to work. But if he walked, would he start sweating? Would he run in his nice attire? Overall, I just couldn't stop wandering....WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?

Haha. I know it's silly because I obviously have no idea who this person is nor will I ever probably see him again...but I still am curious. And secretly wondering what I would have done--- which would probably entail me calling Jimmy and yelling and then I would make him come pick me up and rescue me. Or if I were wearing tennis shoes, maybe I would have run :)

Regardless, thank goodness I never went the wrong direction.