Separate selves sharing space on their way somewhere , even if that's nowhere

On the bus, people's plot lines converge temporarily for varying bits of time so that we share scenes in each others' stories, even if it's only for one stop. For a short time, we are exposed to part of each others' realities - whether we like it or not. This is undoubtedly part of what keeps some people from riding the bus. Because the rub is that it's not just anybody's reality you might be exposed to. You likely won't see, for instance, too many (if any) politicians, executives, "soccer" moms, famous people, movers, shakers, yuppies, glamorous people, etc. You get the point. What you will find are: the working poor and their families, high school and college students, the partially functional mentally ill, the homeless, drug addicts and drunks, the blind, the deaf, the physically impaired, and a random assortment of people like myself who don't fit neatly into any of these categories. However, we could easily be any of these people. Part of what keeps me riding the bus is the opportunity to expose myself to the raw and sometimes unpleasant truth of others’ realities. I have a deep seated belief that part of the reason social problems persist and worsen is because we simply don't pay enough attention to other people's realities. I also strongly feel that car culture exacerbates this. The act of driving ourselves around everywhere forces us to devote most, if not all, of our attention on making sure we don't get into a wreck. And, we rarely drive around with strangers. Given how much of our free time we spend in our cars it's no wonder so many people seem absolutely oblivious to the harsh realities of most people’s lives. A considerable amount of this blog will be devoted to grappling with hard social truths as I experience them through the bus. Warning: at times this will be a bumpy ride.

Will Bloom