Hijabs, Dreadlocks, and Doo-rags

As a frequent rider of city buses and light rail trains, I'm exposed to a wide variety of humanity from all parts of the world. There are Muslims from Somalia and Ethiopia with their beards and hijabs, young African-American men with their doo-rags, and dreadlocks, older black women with their brightly colored bandanas bunched up in front of their heads in a knot. There are Vietnamese and Hmong women with their babies nestled in slings across their chests, and men and women from South and Central America who converse in Spanish.

I sometimes see bedraggled men with disheviled clothes who carry cardboard signs announcing they are homeless. There are women with baby strollers, shoppers with bulky carts, and disabled men with walkers who sometimes make it hard to reach the seats in the back.

Therefore, whenever I board a bus, I don't know what to expect. Even though I always hope for an uneventful ride, I often encounter some kinds of trouble. I consider it a good day when there's no incident; when there's no one shouting at their kids, cussing or swearing, talking loudly to themselves, or acting out in some way. I feel for the drivers who have to deal with a combination of traffic problems, disrespectful passengers, or people unwilling to pay their fares. It makes me appreciate them all the more for dealing with these multiple challenges. They certainly deserve more than their $26.00 an hour starting pay. I can understand why there's a city-wide shortage of drivers, and that many buses are now equipped with plastic shields to protect drivers from disruptive passengers.

Besides buses, I also frequently ride the light rail trains. There it's not uncommon to see people stretched out asleep in the seats. In fact, the problem has become so serious that the Metropolitan Council stopped running trains after midnight a few years ago. I've experienced some scary moments on both buses and trains. I remember one afternoon when a black teenager came on the bus I was riding wielding a handgun. Before you could blink an eye, the bus was surrounded by half a dozen police cruisers. Several officers hurriedly boarded to escort the young man off the bus into a squad car.

Another time, I was riding the light rail Green line from Minneapolis to St. Paul when I found myself surrounded by half a dozen young men in their teens and twenties who occupied the front seats. They started trash-talking loudly, and smoking joints, so that I feared for my life. I was feeling very vulnerable because the driver's compartment was separated from the rest of the car I was on, and he would have had a hard time intervening in case of trouble. Fortunately, nothing bad happened since the men eventually exited the train. But the fear stayed with me for a long time afterwards. Another time, I saw a young woman banging her fists against the inside of the train, screaming insults at someone on her phone.

However, I don't want to leave the impression that all my bus and train rides are unpleasant or scary. In fact, much of the time, nothing bad happens. It also depends on which buses I take, and the time of day. Certain routes like the Number 5 Chicago line or the Minneapolis-St. Paul 21A have more problems than others, especially at night. So, I try to avoid them whenever possible. I've also had quite a few positive experiences on the bus. There have been times when people offered me their seats because I'm a senior. Many drivers are quite friendly. I remember one of them greeting each new passenger with a friendly "Howdy." Others are very helpful in securing disabled folks in wheelchairs and scooters to make sure they're safe. I also find it very convenient that buses now have bike racks in front.

I have several good friends who have been bus drivers in the past and who have interesting stories to tell about their experiences. One of them even wrote a delightful poem about one of his women passengers. There's another driver who attends my church whom I always look forward to running into. Whenever I see him, we always have a nice chat. To express my appreciation for the ride, I usually thank the driver upon departing. Since I've been

riding buses and trains for as long as I can remember, I will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life. As a result, I've acquired some street smarts that can usually alert me to any impending trouble. And I really appreciate the fact that I have good bus connections in the first place, so that I can get around the city without a car.