Muni Love(s) You, Part II.
I forgot to post something that occurred on October 26th which moved me.I had just missed the 29 bus that would have whisked me quickly to my nearest BART station, saving me about 12 minutes of walking. It went past my street while I still had about six houses to walk down the hill, plus an entire block along the cross street to reach the nearest stop. I resigned myself to walking to BART, and had made it about two blocks down when another 29 snuck up behind me. I turned when I heard that unique hybrid bus sound that the 29 now makes, saw the location of the bus, looked ahead to the stop a full block away, sighed, and resigned myself to walking again.
But the driver came up alongside, shot me a significant look, and slowed a bit to wait for my response - so I ran, and she stopped for me.
I told her I hadn't expected her, since a bus had just passed.
"I can read body language," she said, as I thanked her profusely.
The 29 is a busy route, with the bus routinely packed with old folks and school kids jostling each other for position, with fierce competition to board at the busy stops, with noise and bluster... There are so many people along the way that the drivers have to deal with, but she read me and gave me a chance to get on between stops. Her gesture was so unexpected, I got teary-eyed just for a moment.
I often say that I don't like people, but that's not entirely true. I *love* people when they are at their best: planting trees, helping frail people cross streets, volunteering, smiling at people for no particular reason while they walk down the street (or smiling back when they are smiled at)... I don't like people when they are oblivious to people around them, and act thoughtlessly. Most people seem to fall into the thoughtless category, and so I often feel like a misanthrope. But I love the people who are aware of their surroundings, and who display any level of kindness. Those little kind gestures of friendliness completely restore my faith in the potential of humanity, if not in humanity itself.
Labels: Muni loves you
posted by Arlene (Beth)10:41 AM
