Who's Crazy?

This morning I noticed a man quietly amused by a conversation he was having with himself. He had obviously been told that it is impolite to talk to yourself out loud, so he whispered and chuckled quietly to himself. He would even turn his head away from the crowd so as not to disturb others. For all I know, he could have been so amused at my expense! At any rate, I couldn't help but notice how happy and self entertained he seemed to be. He could care less what we thought of his musings, he was having a blast! How often do those of us do the healthy things that bring us joy despite how others may react? That's what I thought about as I watched him enjoy his moment. We may call him crazy or simple, but he was happy. What would he say about the rest of us suppressing such joy trying not to look crazy? Interesting...

PUBLIC Transportation

It is so easy to judge or make assumptions about others before we really know the facts. Today on the bus, a young couple with a small child boarded. The young woman was also very pregnant, to which an older woman remarked under her breath, 'Our tax dollars at work!' making the presumption that the young mother was on welfare. How are we to know whether this young woman works or is a student? We don't. The same woman sighed and frowned unapprovingly when another family boarded having a young son with obvious respiratory issues. He coughed every few minutes with the type of cough that is not contagious, but chronic. Instead of compassion for his pain, she was bothered by the possibility of his germs affecting her. Valid concern, but one look at the child confirms he has more than the common cold. To be fair, I don't want to judge her harshly and impatiently either. But the basic truth of public transportation is that it is PUBLIC! If we don't want to be bothered by or with others who may be different from us in many ways, stay in your car, or better yet, stay home. Just saying...

Charity Begins @ Home

My son and I have often remarked about the need for 'somebody' to clean the area near and around our bus stop at home. Well he has a community service project assignment for school, and we decided to become that 'somebody' who begins charity at home. Our bus stop is also right in front of a day care center, so we decided to include their parking area in our cleanup efforts. Before we knew it, we had covered our whole block and filled two garbage bags. Our goal is to continue for the next 8 weeks to complete his project, but hopefully we will start a trend in our neighborhood and create a good habit for our family. Either way, the area sure looked much better as we waited to catch the bus this afternoon! Hopefully, our neighbors will appreciate our efforts as well.

Through the Eyes of a Child

I had the chance to see through a child's eyes what it is like to ride the city bus for the first time. We have a dear family friend who is 6 years old and agreed to come with me to the grocery store, on the bus of course. So we grabbed our 'granny cart' and headed toward the bus stop with our bus passes in hand. She was a little unsure of how to swipe her pass correctly the first time, but by the end of our trip she was a pro!

At first, she was more intrigued by the other passengers than the actual ride. As we rode through downtown, she enjoyed looking out of the window at the buildings that we could see up close. As we passed the Andrew Jackson state building downtown, she asked, 'Is that the Hermitage?' because she had been to the Hermitage and associated it with Andrew Jackson; so smart!  I pointed out other landmarks as we rode along, and a man sitting behind us remarked that we reminded him of when he took his little girl on the city bus for the first time. He reflected on what seems like a routine commute for us (he was headed to work), but seems so fascinating to children. Seeing it through their eyes gives the route a new perspective; he stated that hearing her excitement made his day.

I loved hearing her remarks on our situation: as we walked to the bus stop with our cart full of groceries, she said, 'People might think we are homeless!' After I assured her that no one would try to take us home or offer us money, she felt better. Then we saw a woman, also waiting for the bus, having a very animated conversation with herself. The look on my little friend's face was priceless! Again I explained that we meet some very interesting people on the bus, that's what makes riding such an adventure. I knew she became comfortable when she fell fast asleep on the way home. Later she asked me, 'Why don't you have a car again?' I started to explain the details of the money we save, the implications to the environment and health; instead I just asked, 'Did you have fun?' Her affirmative answer was all the convincing we both needed that being carless has its perks.

Encouragement

What is there these days that encourages us? There are many discouraging events that occur in our daily lives and conversations, plenty of unpleasant news events and happenings that can rob us of joy and contentment. But if we look hard enough, there are also glimmers of light and encouragement all around us every day if we take the time to acknowledge them as such.
Even on the bus, there are plenty of things that one could complain about: overcrowding sometimes, loud conversations that you don't really care to overhear, and that occasional unpleasant odor that makes everyone look around and wonder (or open a window). But there are also those events that make you smile and feel lighter and hopeful for the world, or at least your city.
Like yesterday morning, when I made my son give up his seat for a lady to be able to sit, hoping to teach a lesson that he and others would take note of. To my pleasant surprise, another young man about the same age was paying attention, so when another seat became available and a different young man started to sit down, the attentive young man told him to offer it to another older woman who was standing. Although she declined the seat (the second boy promptly sat in it), the adults warmly commended the first boy for his mannerly offering.
And this morning, an older friend on the bus encouraged me by telling me of the ways she is taking better care of her health and weight, ways she is saving money and planning for the future; she is close to 70 years old! She gives us all something to look forward to. And this evening, I ran into my friend who appreciates peace; she has found such peace in her heart and home and is happy to share it with all she meets. I was encouraged. But, the icing on the cake for me was to meet another friend who we have watched work hard and attend classes to obtain her high school diploma. She told us before that she struggles with math, and I offered to help. She hasn't taken me up on it in for a long time; tonight she asked me for help. On the way home we reviewed her homework and came up with strategies that will help her remember and understand the material. Before I reached my stop, she asked me if I would come to her graduation and watch her get her diploma. I told her I would be honored. The opportunity to encourage and be encouraged made my day. All in a day's commute...

Just met a neat guy at the bus stop. He is almost 71 years old, but looks more like 51. He is a native of Nashville who is in the music business. When I asked him the secret to his longevity, youthful energy and good looks, he replied that he walks everyday, sings a lot, and a little whiskey doesn't hurt either! Just sharing what the man told me.

Well, the snow last week caught everyone off gaurd. Traffic all over the city was at a virtual standstill, and the snow fell fast and furious. Even the buses couldn't get from one stop to the next. So we walked, thinking we could move faster on foot than the traffic was moving. A young man who had been on a bus that hadn't moved for 20 minutes started walking toward downtown from the Vanderbilt area and we decided to go with him. We had a little caravan of pedestrians weaving our way through traffic on foot. Our initial thought was to find a bus moving faster than we were, but after we crossed the overpass on Broadway and saw the bus he had exited still stuck in traffic, we knew we had made the better choice. We made it to the bus depot within an hour, and were at dinner near home by 6:00 p.m. Our friends in cars were still less than halfway home! I did feel a little guilty sipping on my glass of wine while they were out battling traffic...just a little.

Well, we found another fascinating place that is easy to get to on the bus...the Green Hills library! It is a beautiful place to read and study and a short walk (even in the snow) from the bus stop. Of course, we plugged the address of the library into Google maps using the public transportation feature, and found out a couple of different buses we could take, and how far we would have to walk from the stop depending on the time of day we are traveling.What an adventure! I am feeling like the Dr. Suess book that says, 'Oh, the places you will go!'

Simplicity

Simplicity at its best...that is how my friend described riding the bus and urban living. We both agreed that the places and events we want to attend, downtown and otherwise are so easy to get to on the bus. And for those of us who live on the bus line, we have curb side service! For instance, this past weekend, I went to hear the Jazz Workshop's tribute to Sarah Vaughn at the Frist Center. It was spectacular! There was free entrance to the exhibits and the jazz show, all accessible on the bus. Afterward, I wasn't worried about getting my parking validated or fighting traffic out of the parking lot. I just walked out right out front and caught the next bus heading my direction. Simple pleasure is what I would add to my friend's definition of urban living, including riding the bus.
So maybe you could think of ways you could simplify your life, even if it doesn't mean giving up your car. Maybe driving less, exercising more, spending less time consuming and more time with friends and family...whatever you decide will make your life less complicated. A great prophet once said, 'If your eye (life) is simple (clear, focused), your whole body will be be bright.' I never realized being without a vehicle would help me find simplicity, but it really has.