Lifes Fare

It was a little hotter then usual that day. Instead of the normal Hawaiian 86 degrees with ideal trade winds , it was somewhere in the mid 90's and calm. Dave, John, and myself had been skating (skateboarding) over most of Hickam Air Force Base and were exhausted. We decided that we wanted to make our way to Wallows and then on to Waikiki to hit some surf to cool down. John usually had his parents car, but it was in the shop. So we turned to the only other transportation that we knew of ... the bus.

It was a little strange and exciting to board a city bus for the first time. It slowly rolled up coming to a stop at a barren corner of the east side of the base. The brakes screeched with the typical air release. The driver was an older gentleman, rather heavy set, with glasses that looked like they were bullet proof. The only words that were uttered were "keep em off the floor". Apparently he didn't care for the skateboards. It was a typical bus. It had hard blue plastic seats, and was rather spacious. There weren't even any bars running the length of the bus for passengers to hold. It was jsut white and blue, void of any images. It was 1985. There was no one on the bus, so we headed to the back to camp out. There was no A/C, but the windows were open and generated enough wind to cool us down. The engine started to roar as we took off. I remember feeling eager to be venture the island with our new found travel. We saw interesting people enter and exit, most of them friendly. Even held some conversations with a few. I saw parts of the island i had not seen before, all while enjoying the company of my friends. Somehow, i felt i had aged that day.

Fast forward 23 years. My sister in law is giving birth to her brand new baby boy, and my wife is by her side in the delivery room. She tells me she wont be able to pick me up after work. That leaves me only one choice... the Bus.

It was a muggy afternoon in downtown Minneapolis. I had no skateboard (its at home), and i had to make a trek from WFHM to Lake and 35W in order to catch the bus. After a ten minute walk I climbed the 30 plus stairs to the bus stop sitting on the edge of the interstate. I waited with about 6 other people for the chariot that would take us to our domain. One by one they all disappeared onto their respective bus. Finally mine rolled up. As it did, i could see that it was full... completely.

The bus rolled up with the familiar release of the brakes. Excitement started rising in me much like my youth. Nostalgia started setting in. Door swung open and the bus driver didn't even look my way. Already i could tell things were different from my youth. I stepped about a foot past the yellow line, that had not been there 23 years ago, and was not able to move any further. Every seat and standing space was taken. No one was making eye contact. No one was talking. People were either reading books, listening to ipods, or staring blankly out the window. I call it City Grey. Everyone is somewhere in between the black and the white. They are just grey. There were advertisements running the length of the bus. Everywhere you looked, there was some kind of information being shoved down your consuming throat. Quite a bit had changed from my youth. There was no communication from anyone. Things had definitely changed. People made great effort not to connect with the person whom their bodies were literally pressed up against. It was sad to see this. It reminded me of my youth and the freedom I had and the freedom people had with each other in general. One by one they would all leave the bus. They would utter "thank you" to the bus driver, but not with some genuine feeling, but an obligation to the fact it was done by the passenger before them. I was the last one to exit the bus. Before i did, i tried to strike a conversation with the bus driver, but he seemed off put by it. I tried. I left the bus with a feeling of disappointment. I wanted to feel that same energy from my early days. It was not to be had.

So, i made the ten minute walk home. Thought about my kids and the new baby born that day, and could only hope they wouldn't become one of the Grey's. After arriving home, i went to the basement, grabbed my skate(skateboard) and tried to refresh my youth. The day was not lost.