ten hours. it took me ten hours to get from 19th street and eighth avenue to arundel road.
i left the apartment at noon hoping to beat the mad rush at port authority and have time to grab a sandwich before my 1:30 bus. a bus.. why did i ever think that would be an okay idea for today? whatever. i was on the bus bound for new england from 2 pm - 9:10 pm. then an hour back home. never doing that again.
i could have flown to europe with time on either end.
but i did make a lot of new friends today. it's funny; bus travel brings people together like no other means of transport. there's this camaraderie formed in the waiting and commiserating. there's a noticeable absence of any feelings of entitlement or preferential treatment. this is, in a sense, the basest form of mass transit. it doesn't have the luxury of a train, the expense of a plane, or the novelty of a boat. traveling by bus is synonymous with discomfort, frustration, and the overwhelming urge to reach one's destination while not enjoying the ride. there is, however, something kind of romantic about it, in a very 1950's "walk off to look for america" type of way. that sense is best gleaned from a peaceful, traffic-free ride during daylight. not in the pitch-black rain of northern new england.
regardless, here were the new friends i made:
-john & devie, an older couple who have homes in brattelboro and manhattan. they talked a lot about their granddaughter and were very interested in my future as well. john was happy to have a young set of eyes and ears alongside him in line at port authority. we met in line at 12:30 and all disembarked in vermont at 9:10. john came and found me on the bus just to make sure he wished me a happy thanksgiving and good luck with my future.
-the sassy, attractive black power-lesbian in line behind john, devie, and myself. we talked a lot about the economy and lady gaga.
-liesel, lee, and damion. we were the four 20-somethings in the back of the bus heading north. all students, all from new york, all desperately trying to get home. liesel is a sweet-faced girl getting her masters in early-childhood education. lee is a hipster with a beard from brooklyn who works for a non-profit company. damion goes to columbia, drinks pelligrino, and friended me on facebook via his iphone. we all talked about school, about the horrors of bus travel and various journalistic publications in new york city.
-the pakistani kid who sat next to me for most of massachusetts. he didn't understand the concept of thanksgiving but was going to visit his sister for the weekend. "so you just eat?" he said, "then what?" i colored my explanation with talks of football, the parade, and descriptions of what it is one actually consumes. he didn't really get it. but he did ask me to have coffee with him when we got to northampton, where he disembarked. when i informed him i was, unfortunately, going to new hampshire, he looked puzzled and i had to explain my state's relationship to maine using my hands and ipod. i hope he has a nice non-holiday weekend.
so that was my day. full of colorful people with colorful stories. it was surely less boring than many other sojourns i've taken with greyhound. it just took 10 hours. unnecessary. but i returned home with brian, kathy & emily and was soon joined by friends, warmed up with tea and energized with a clementine. all is right with the world.
i can't wait for tomorrow. i've already requested at least one board game and one home movie. and that we dress for dinner. and ample time in front of the tv watching the PARADEEE. get excited.
HAPPY HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
[omg turkey, 2007]
forever on thanksgiving day, the heart will find the pathway home.
-wilbur d. nesbit
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