2008 Woodie Awards
Transportation Woes
in Editorial/Op-edIssue date: 11/10/05
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I wanted to say "Hellz no!" but instead asked if there was any other alternatives. The teller informed me that I could take a 20-minute bus ride to another train station and then get a train to my destination. I went with this choice and walked to the bus station across the street.
Walking in I saw another goddamn ticket machine. "Where are all of the workers?" I wondered. Confused again, I went to a door that said employees and knocked like a lost child. A tall, older gentleman appeared and I told him my predicament. He pointed me towards the bus to take, and I hopped on. I, being "Mr. Naive" from small town America, had never been on a real city bus before, so I had no idea what to expect. The thing stopped at every damn block. If there was a street, or a landmark, or a place where someone could possibly go, it stopped there. There must have been about 40 stops in 45 minutes, a ride that should have taken only 10.
On the bus I asked the nice lady next to me when my stop was. "Que?" she responded. As the bus stopped every second my stomach tied into a knot and eventually, I had to go to the bathroom, which is something that always happens when I get nervous. I had two options: stay on this bus or hop off, find a restroom and take another one. I decided to stay on, only because when I looked out the window there were stores with names like Billy Bob's Auto Shop... you get the picture. The ride finally ended, I ran off with only seconds to spare and made my train. Thinking of what I had just been through, my dead computer and my upcoming ride, I thought to myself, "I wouldn't mind being on a train in the good ole days right now." Goddamn modern technology still hasn't fixed our transportation problems. n
Walking in I saw another goddamn ticket machine. "Where are all of the workers?" I wondered. Confused again, I went to a door that said employees and knocked like a lost child. A tall, older gentleman appeared and I told him my predicament. He pointed me towards the bus to take, and I hopped on. I, being "Mr. Naive" from small town America, had never been on a real city bus before, so I had no idea what to expect. The thing stopped at every damn block. If there was a street, or a landmark, or a place where someone could possibly go, it stopped there. There must have been about 40 stops in 45 minutes, a ride that should have taken only 10.
On the bus I asked the nice lady next to me when my stop was. "Que?" she responded. As the bus stopped every second my stomach tied into a knot and eventually, I had to go to the bathroom, which is something that always happens when I get nervous. I had two options: stay on this bus or hop off, find a restroom and take another one. I decided to stay on, only because when I looked out the window there were stores with names like Billy Bob's Auto Shop... you get the picture. The ride finally ended, I ran off with only seconds to spare and made my train. Thinking of what I had just been through, my dead computer and my upcoming ride, I thought to myself, "I wouldn't mind being on a train in the good ole days right now." Goddamn modern technology still hasn't fixed our transportation problems. n
