16 March 2011
3:30 PM EDT
Delta Sky Club Lounge, Jacksonville International Airport
My head is spinning this afternoon, a result of allergies (damn you, spring in Tallahassee!) and a lack of sleep. I kept packing and repacking my luggage last night, haunted by a combined paranoia that my bags weigh too much and that I didn’t pack enough clothes.
It was a whirlwind of trying to get organized, and I’m now thinking in my haste that I might have forgotten something important, like my underwear. Oh, well...I know I have at least the one pair I have on right now, and I guess the boys will have to adapt to the cold.
My own personal clothing accounts for about a quarter of my total luggage. The rest are what Filipinos call “pasalubong,” or gifts for family and friends. Much of it was packed by my mom, but I included some great stuff for the kids, and I can’t wait to give it to them. It makes me feel like Oprah in a way.
I took the StarMetro this morning to pick up the rental car I drove to Jacksonville. I know I could have asked a friend to help me, but I do like to take the bus on occasion to remind me it is such a blessing to have a car. Anyway, for the next few weeks, I’ll be relying on public transport, so I should get used to it!
There’s a stop around the corner from my house, and it took about a half hour to get from there to the transfer station in downtown Tallahassee. I pulled out my Kindle to read during the ride, but I became easily distracted by the people coming off and on the bus. So, I began to reflect on this increasing gap between the haves and have-nots.
There are many critics about our public transportation system in this country, which is practically non-existent in most areas, save for the large cities and some mid-size ones. I looked around to see the people on my bus: a young lady in a Wendy’s uniform, some women in scrubs, two middle school kids who missed their school bus and were late for class, college students from Florida State and FAMU, and many other everyday people.
The point I want to make is that it is the everyday, normal (and some not-so-normal like a man wearing a Vietnamese rice paddy concial hat talking to himself) people who don’t just use the bus system, but DEPEND on it for their livelihood. Without reliable transportation, how can you expect to hold down a good job or go to school?
I can go off on many related issued about high gas prices, the need to invest in great public transport projects like high speed rail, and reduce auto usage, but I’ll save that for another day. What I want to do is to challenge critics who want to divest in public transport and take a moment and ride the bus. Meet the people who depend on it, and come to understand the challenges they face.