I love the morning light. I like the way it brings a golden edge to everything it touches, the way it infuses the day with hope. Anybody who rides the bus must carry a mote of that golden promise with them because it takes faith to believe that the underfunded, under-equipped, and under-scheduled public transportation system will get them to work on time. Most of the time it does, but those days it does not can easily result in awkward explanations to one's supervisor, even job loss.
One day while riding the bus to work, I took a look around and saw people, themselves on their way to work, trying to keep roofs over their heads, food in their kids' bellies and clothes on their backs. They were people who do the "grunt work" -- customer service representatives, accountants, maids for the many hotels downtown, waitresses and cooks in the restaurants, practical nurses and orderlies for several hospitals, personnel who clean the offices, security guards, baristas, et cetera -- a work force that is generally treated as if they are invisible that would suddenly be missed if they could not get to their jobs.
The "city fathers" tend to treat the system as if it were their proverbial "red-headed stepchild," to be ignored, abused and neglected. Generally, the buses seem to be regarded as the transportation system of the poor, the elderly (poor), the blind (poor) and disabled (poor). Visitors to our city invariably turn to the buses to visit our numerous attractions and are, again, invariably amused and dismayed at the system's scheduling and routes.
There have been recent efforts to improve the system, the drivers are usually courteous and considerate in sometimes difficult circumstances and, while cuts have been made in some routes, efforts were made to improve connections between others. Plans are in progress to build a light rail system and to add service to outlying areas. So ... maybe?
We'll see. With the economy in doldrums and governmental squabbling, the city fathers may suddenly find there's a knot in their pockets and not be able to raise the stepchild's allowance.
We'll see. With the economy in doldrums and governmental squabbling, the city fathers may suddenly find there's a knot in their pockets and not be able to raise the stepchild's allowance.
One can only hope.
"And now for something completely different."
The picture above is of another Speedway landmark, the Mug'n'Bun Drive-In on West 10th Street, which has been in business since 1960. The place has a national reputation for its home-made root beer as well as a menu chock full of every standard American drive-in staple one could ever think to order. The store's appearance is unpretentious, but the treats inside keep people coming back for more. Yum.
