Thursday, February 21, 2008

Live from Minnesota: Planes, Trains, and Buses Part 3

(continued from parts 1 and 2) ... Long-grey-haired-dude had finally gotten off the bus and I was left to sit in peace. Well, at least outer peace. Inside I was freaking out because we were getting farther and farther away from anything that looked like civilization and I didn't know when I was supposed to get off because I couldn't understand a goddamn thing the driver was saying. As we got farther and farther into suburbia there were fewer and fewer people on the bus which also made me a bit nervous. Eventually I was the only person on the bus. Then I heard the driver mutter something that sounded like "Opportunity Partners". Yes, I think this is my stop. I rang the "Request Stop" bell like I'd never rung it before, because of course, I hadn't.

When I got off I was greeted by several other people at the stop which I thought was odd considering so middle-of-nowhere we were. In the next few minutes I found out a few interesting things: One- Opportunity Partners was one of those places that hires mentally handicapped individuals to do work. Two- It was quitting time for them. Three- My bus driver's English was just as bad "in person" as over the intercom.

So there I was, standing at the bus stop, large duffel bag and laptop case in hand, at about 3:20pm. This stop was apparently a break spot for the bus drivers and mine got out and had some yogurt. During this time I was questioned by one lady from opportunity partners as to what I was doing there, since I must have looked out of place. I told her I was waiting for the #12 bus, to which she informed me "this is" as she signaled to the bus I'd just gotten off of. For some reason, I believed her and questioned the driver.

He confirmed that yes, in fact this was the #12 bus. I told him "Isn't this #12C", to which he replied "Yes". So now I was defying space and time and on two different buses at once. Sympathetic to my situation (bless his soul for trying) the driver tried to help me figure out where I needed to be. I made the mistake of agreeing with him when he asked if I was "going that way". Once he knew where I was going ("that way") he told me the bus I wanted actually stopped around the corner, not at this stop. I said OK and started heading around the corner.

Since there was a foot or so of snow on the ground I had to walk on the street because the sidewalk wasn't clear. I can only imagine how homeless I looked.

I rounded the corner and found nothing. Wait, no, there was a bus stop sign. No bench, no place to stand, just a bus stop sign, snow, and the side of a building. Feeling my hands ready to draw my phone quick-draw style and dial a cab I stood under the "bus stop".

It was cold, really cold, and I began to contemplate whether I could survive the night outside.

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