#4144

Got the number today, but I was inspired by the activity on the bus. No one yesterday, eh? Today we had people and oddness - gloriosky, Bert, do the happy dance! To begin, it was our new regular driver, but he'd buzzed his hair - wonder what's in the air since Dave just shaved his beard? I'm not shaving anything.

The newspaper guy was on the bus but not in his usual spot. As I walked to my usual seat I saw what had displaced him. A young woman was curled up on the back seat, covered by a blanket, appearing to be sound asleep. She was right smack in the place where newspaper guy usually sits, so what was he to do? Bicycle guy got on a bit later and everyone was exchanging glances, curious about the sleeper. Eventually she got up and got off at Southern. She pulled a hood over her head and her "blanket" looked like a sleeping bag without an outer cover. She certainly had all the makings of a good "street people" story - added a new dimension to good old route 66. My picture today is for our sleeper.

At Rural and Guadalupe, a woman bounded on the bus, sat catty-cornered across from me and immediately asked me if I had any extra tissues - fortunately I had a couple of spare in my jacket pocket; I certainly don't mind sharing my Kleenex, it just felt odd as she very specifically asked me for tissue when there was another woman sitting directly across from her. Wonder why she zoned in on me? Does white hair mean I have supplies? I always assume it's the hair, but that's what makes me different from everyone else on the bus. At least I think that's the obvious difference. Anyway, it was a bus oddity.

We had lots of riders today and it just felt better. A bus should have riders - as my favorite quote goes, "It's good to have an end to journey toward, but it's the journey that matters in the end." A bus journey needs riders.