El Auto Bus (El out-oh boos)

(Note: If you'd like, you can read this blog at www.urgack.com. As soon as the design is all finished, I'll be moving all my blogging over there. Until then, all blogs will be posted in both places.)

For the past couple of weeks I've been back to riding the the 'ol CTA to and from work. It's been kind of nice, actually, since it's not bitterly cold out, and it really doesn't take much longer than it did to drive. But it had been quite some time since I was a regular bus user, and it's reminded me that I live in the city. Por ejemplo.

The bus, without question, is the most diverse place I've ever been. I grew up in a town that was predominately white. In fact, Wikipedia tells me that Cary is 95% white. That's a pasty town. Rock Island, home to my Alma Mater, may have had a bit more of a diverse population with only 77% of its residents being Caucasian, but Augustana College itself was 95% white. Up until moving to the city, I had lead a very racially segregated life. It wasn't a matter of racism or of conscious decision to do so, it was just where I was born and where I ended up going to school. But no matter the reasons, my exposure to a racially and culturally diverse populace was extremely limited.

So back to the bus. The bus is an amalgamation of all the people of Chicago. I take two buses to work, the 76 East bound on Diversey, and the 50 North bound on Damen. These buses both go through numerous neighborhoods and pick up all sorts of people. It makes for a great people watching experience. And it's also good for me to get rid of some of my inhibitions, my preconceived notions.

I wouldn't call myself a racist (but who would?), but I know that because of my limited interaction with people of other races and cultures I base most of my thoughts and actions about other people on stereotypes. Riding the bus has let me be around a 'melting pot' of people and really allow me to see beyond the stereo types.

I've held conversations with the random people sitting next to me, seen the common courtesy of people giving up their seat for an older woman, call out for the bus driver to stop when they see someone chasing the bus. As dirty as some the CTA buses are, it really seems to be its own little community. We are bus riders, and we have that in common, so we can look out for each other. Even just a smile at the person who sits down next to you is more than you'd ever really get just out and about.

Once it gets a bit warmer out, I'll be riding my scooter to work mroe often, but I'll definitely be taking the bus on rainy days, and I think I'll look forward to it.