Didn't happen. The ride on the Purple was short and efficient. Then a total dead stop on the Red. Word was some kind of "police action" had shut down all activity on a long stretch of the Red line. None of us knew what "police action" really meant, but it was probably not anything good. We were shuttled to a shuttle bus. If you want to know what's happening on the street, ride a bus. You get the full demographic spectrum of humanity seated and standing side by side in close quarters. It is one of the colorful features of public transportation.
And what of our fellow Human Beings? How are they doing? Seems folks are a little frazzled, wrapped a bit too tight. There was a fight on the bus. A woman was being a little rough and rowdy with her child, and folks around her were not pleased. One rider started "filming" her with his phone. This totally infuriated the young mother. She started yelling and screaming, and hitting out at the other passengers. She confronted the man with the phone, there were slaps and shouts, and tugging and pushing.
The whole bus was now a rollicking, pissed off entity. Folks were shouting, calling out the woman, encouraging her to sit down and shut up. There was a kid with a skateboard, he was in the midst of a long, rambling, mumbled monologue, summing up all the woes & discontent and unhappiness swirling in the air. My partner was a bit worried about that kid, he seemed a bit unstable, maybe in conversation with someone who wasn't there. Finally he started shouting at the woman too. All those shouts and taunts inflamed the young mother even more. Most of the other folks just seemed to want to get to their next stop. That wasn't happening either. The woman bus driver pulled to the side of the road, got off the bus, got on her phone, and presumably called the police.
Most of the passengers, including my partner and I, decided it was time to exit the bus. We were now on the street. Far from our destination. The young mother, child in tow exited and scattered to the four winds. The bus was now totally empty. No one wanted to stick around to see what else was in store.
It started to rain. That was kind of the last straw. We had to laugh. We found shelter at a corner cafe. We ordered up two hot chocolates with oat milk. If we were going to be "stranded," might as well make the best of it. We were a bit stunned. It was all sort of funny and weird too. I thought of that Marvin Gaye song, "What's Going On?"
Lucky for us, the person we were heading off to meet rescued us. We were whisked away in a big, shiny hybrid vehicle. We ended up making our appointment, a bit late, a bit frazzled, and a bit weary. Still. We made it, in one piece, with a story to tell. Sometimes getting from one place to another can be an adventure. Yes. Indeed.
