Sailing and the Bus

My wife told me about a friend of hers who is teaching people how to ride the bus. I thought to myself, "How silly, how hard can it be." I found out that my sheltered suburban life had a huge hole in it. I bought a month pass for the system and found out that the bus system in Grand Rapids is complex. Some busses run all week, while other skip Sunday or Saturday. They run different routes depending on the hour of the day. If you do not have the guide with you forget it. I find myself sitting on the bus feeling conspicously wealthy. I have the only Ipod in sight. My backpack is huge. I wear gold rings. It is amazing to me how many people do not ride the bus. We as a family are learning how to ride the bus! It sounds silly to say but you really have to learn the system, where all the stops are and where you can go and when. Someday when I go to school in Vancouver, BC I think this will pay off. Or the day we find ourselves in Istanbul trying to figure out their system knowing ours first should help. I hope. We figure that having a sailboat and using public transportation when on land go hand in hand.

The Bus- 904

One thing i know for sure, it's cold. And wow Christmas is coming fast. Another thing i know for sure is that on-line shopping is the best way to shop; quick and easy.

The family and I (our crew) are all trying to figure out how to save and conserve our money for our voyage. We have discovered the Grand Rapids bus system and sold a car. There is a whole other life out there on the bus, bringing a new adventure for each of us since we all have a bus route to each of our jobs. Supper time among other conversation usually includes some sort of interesting happening from accordian entertainment to a man digging for gold oblivious to comments of the other riders.

It seems that stereotypes are quickly made by all. If you ride the bus you are either black, a college student, Grand Rapids Public School student, white trash, poor, homeless or some sort of factory worker. At work at (St. Mary's hospital) my co-workers seem to feel sorry and unsure of my reasons for riding the bus, thinking that i am a little off.

In the time it takes to warm up the truck, scrape the snow off, i am already half way home (2 miles away) on the bike or the bus, not to mention that its hard on the truck. And oh ya, my truck is still not even warm when I get home.

People who ride the bus assume that you are broke. When asked by a homeless 30 year old how much i make, to whom i answered wisely "enough," assumed that i didn't make that much or i wouldn't be riding the bus.

I usually have very interesting interactions at the stop where i wait for the bus after work. It also happens to be in an area where all the homeless shelters are. Being a white young female alone at 8:00pm bring suspicion my direction. People passing by assume that i always have money to spare for food for them. One girl was quite surprised when i gave her yogurt left over from my lunch. One man offered me his "warm car to sit in" while i waited, later to come and talk with me to see what i was all about. This area is patroled by the GRPD. It never fails that i get strange looks from them. Rolland thinks that they think i am a prostitute under cover. Who knows.

The bus system is a great thing, why is it that here in Grand Rapids everyone needs to ride thier car? True, the bus is at times inconvient and a hassle if you are used to relying on the car. It also takes much planning to ride the bus, can't just zoom off where you want.

I enjoy the bus and meeting new people. There is a sense of community among the regulars who look out after one another.