The Bus

Last night I took the bus. There I was totally decked out, smelling of my favorite perfume, and wearing my favorite jewelry, sitting on the bus. I have to admit I stuck out a little bit. It was after the usual commuting hours, and you didn't see any suits or shiny shoes. In fact it was a rather drab dull crowd, so I must have looked rather sparkling and radiant.

I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone and she laughed, "You're on the bus?" “Yup,” I said, as I was sitting next to a guy whose shoes were too large and whose bag held too many clothes for him to be coming from the gym. "Why" she continued to gasp. Mind you, this is a friend of mine who drives a Jaguar and hasn't ever considered the bus as a form of adequate transportation, which it usually isn't if A) you are running late or B) you don't have change.

For me there is only one reason to ride the bus in San Francisco. Parking. As it turned out, that morning I found ROCKSTAR parking in front of my apartment. I mean, right in front. In San Francisco and other major cities, this is a gift not to be taken lightly. I mean do you know how easy it is to have your car right in front of your house? If you live in the suburbs you can’t really appreciate it. But for us city slickers, think about it. You can load and unload things so easily, leave your car door open without fear that someone is going to steal everything when you turn your back. There is no double parking and risking being rear-ended as high-speed cars race to make the green light. You don't have to struggle walking up the hill, or spend countless hours driving around looking for any spot (usually three blocks away from your house) at 11 PM when the only people who give up spots at that time of night are newly EX boyfriends or someone rushing to the hospital. I treasured this parking spot and wanted to savor my good fortune, so I rode the bus - twice.

It pained me this morning to start my car. As I slowly crept out of my spot, I spied a blinker. The blinker was on the car that wanted my spot. The woman looked overjoyed, almost relieved. She even waved me a thank you as she pulled into the parking space. It is evening now, I noticed that her car is still there, still in front of my house 12 hours later. Maybe she too discovered her good fortune. Maybe she took the bus.