There's a dead person on my bus
I've been riding public transportation since I was a child....a long, long time ago. My earliest memories are of getting on the Skokie Swift, transferring to a B train, heading down to the Addison stop so we could see the Cubs play. The price was 29 cents. Like I said, it was a long, long time ago.
I still ride public transportation in Chicago. I'm on a train or a bus almost every day....most days more than once. When you've done this for the better part of five decades, you've seen it all....at least you think you have.
The highlights of my years in the PubTrans world include people eating four course meals, drinking alcohol....sometimes hiding it in a paper bag...sometimes not caring enough to do that. Lots of smoking on the train...including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and weed. Oh yeah, talking about drugs, I've seen people snorting lines of cocaine a few times.
Then there's people throwing up, having fights, having sex and maybe my favorite moment....people staying on the train after being told to immediate leave because the track was on fire...and then not leaving. I still wonder what the thought process was on that one? I will tell you that seeing a train track on fire is pretty cool...and more than a little surreal.
I can go on and on and on but I think you get the point. It's hard to imagine a public transportation situation I haven't seen....until today.
This morning I needed to take a road trip to my dentist. No big deal...it's a quick train ride followed by a short bus ride. I've done this route maybe one hundred times over the years. Only a couple of times have there been incidents on this trip. Yeah, sure one was that fire and the other was some dude telling me I was going to Hell because I was an American, but maybe he was right about that. Like I said, no big deal.
I get on the train and in less than twenty minutes, I'm at my stop. No problems, no issues. Told you this was going to be easy. It's time for the bus. Uh oh!!
I have two choices for the bus. One drops me at the door. The other about two blocks away. The latter is waiting and I'm thinking why wait? This is the one I should take. That's what I get for thinking.
I hop on the bus, head to the back and notice someone sprawled on the floor. That I've seen before so I took a seat away from him, towards the front. I'm settling in when I hear someone call for the driver and he heads to the back. I can hear talking and about five minutes later, the driver comes back to his seat and gets on the phone. I couldn't hear what was being said but figured he was talking to the police to have them come and help him get a drunk passenger off the bus. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be here for some time. The passenger in the back is dead and I'll be waiting for someone to come and handle this. We'll put you on the next bus but you're welcome to wait on this bus until it comes."
Now I don't know about you but if someone tells me that a dude a few rows away from me is dead, I'm not sticking around if it's my choice. A. There's nothing I can do for him. B. I know it's sad but it's also creepy and I'm out of there as fast as possible.
As I'm leaving the bus, I turn to take a final look and notice that only a few others are exiting with me. REALLY?! I know it's a little chilly and you don't want to wait outside but you'd rather sit in a bus with someone who is dead? REALLY? Plus, who knows how long he's been there? It could have been miles before anyone said anything but that's the choice you're making? REALLY?
It turns out that bus option number two is waiting so I run..and I really mean run...over there and escape. There wasn't anything I could do so why wait around to watch. With or without me, I'm almost positive he was still going to be dead.
So what have we learned from this trip: A. Never assume you've seen it all. For all I know, tomorrow someone will give birth on the Red Line. Circle of life stuff. B. Maybe I can blame the dentist for this? Today was my first non-emergency visit since 2003. Maybe if I wait another fifteen years or longer, I can save some lives? C. I should start using Uber, Lyft and taxis? Nothing strange ever happens in those forms of PubTrans? D. How about I take some more driving lessons and get a car?
What do you think...a convertible or an SUV? I'm thinking black!!!
Related Post: This is why people hate public transportation
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