Greyhound Trip Reflection

Greyhound reminder: “Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” (Plato)

I made a trip to Pittsburgh to surprise my best friend Tatiana for her 23rd birthday a little over two weeks ago. I'm extremely lucky and have been friends with three girls for over fourteen years that I met in elementary school. In order for the trip to be affordable on a volunteer stipend I decided the Greyhound was my best means of transportation.

Busing transportation isn't new to me. I have taken the Megabus more than a handful of times, along with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), but this time was my first Greyhound experience. Airing on the cautious side I arrived at the station forty minutes early and found my spot in the line. I was surrounded by many regular riders who warned me that Greyhound will leave whenever it wants to leave. This may be early, on time, but usually late. Two and a half hours later we loaded the bus, and three hours and fifteen later we left. I have to admit at this point I was far past being patient. I had a friend to surprise and the plans had already been arranged! Little did I know, as these thoughts of annoyance ran through my mind that I was about to be reminded of a valuable lesson of the commonality of human experience. I want to share with you all a few encounters of the people who I met on the Greyhound.

Middle aged women (In line) : A woman with kind eyes and a not so discrete Mickey Mouse shirt watched my stuff as I went to the bathroom three times (not out of the ordinary) during the long wait in line. I returned the favor for her a few times myself. Finally, we actually exchanged a few words. She has taken the Greyhound everywhere- Tennessee, Pittsburgh, New York, Chicago. She is a single woman loving life. Her words of wisdom were not to rely on a man to make you happy! She told me she was going home to family. Her cousin had died in a coma a few days earlier. I would have never had this suspicion during my brief interaction with her.

Middle aged man (Cleveland to Canton): A man sat down with me on the bus. He wasted no time getting comfortable and began to fill me in on the details of why he was going home to Canton. He is a veteran who served for thirty years. He left home at sixteen and was returning for the first time. With a big smile he told me that for first time since he sixteen he could finally relish in having long hair and side burns. Freedom!

Soon the conversation tone got a bit more serious. As we exchanged information about each other he found out I was a Psychology major. He said, "Oh no! You're one of those people." Next, he told me about his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He couldn't find a job and he had just spent the last of his money on a Greyhound ticket. Finally he was going home and his family had no idea. Smiling he said, "Hey kid do you like 80s? Listen to Journey and my other music". Not only did he want to share his music with me, but wasn't about to wait around for an answer. He put his earphones on my ears, adjusts the volume up high, picks the song and goes to sleep until we arrive in Canton. We said our goodbyes.

(Canton to Youngstown): At the Canton stop the bus driver realized that Greyhound overbooked the bus. His solution is for people to stand in the aisles. The aisles are full! A young man catches my eye. I smile at him and feel so bad for the many standing. He responded with the biggest smile on his face. Aren't you annoyed, I thought?

Young man (Youngstown to Pittsburgh): The young man with the biggest smile sat down with me. On the surface some may think he appears to have it together. Aside from his happy mannerisms he was in a crisp business suit. As I looked a little closer I most noticed his very tired eyes with big black circles. As he introduced himself his thick accent and minimal English was evident to me.

Once again I was privileged enough to learn another passenger's story. He was a Guatemalan who had his green card (he was hoping still up to date) for work. He had a five year old son and a wife that he married at seventeen. He loved her, but confessed missing Guatemala and never feeling like he was at home. Oftentimes he lived alone for business trips and years later he explained how language was such a difficult barrier for him. For the next hour we went back and forth and quizzed each other on vocabulary. He tested me on Spanish vocabulary and in exchange I gave him the English vocabulary word. His ending words of wisdom he gave me were to finish school, keep reading books, learn Spanish, don't get married until I know myself, and drink beer.

These are just three stories of people I spoke with that day, yet I met more people and heard more stories. My six hour Greyhound trip that should have taken three hours was very rewarding. I was reminded that regardless of our differences we all experience the commonalities of the human experience. During my transportation experience there were people of all ages, socioeconomic background, and race all manifesting similar reactions as we waited in line, loaded the bus, and finally arrived at our designated locations. I was far from being alone in my experience.We all got annoyed when the Greyhound was running late. Despite our differences we were all much more the same than different. As humans we all love, suffer, question, think, and feel. Just look around you.

Destination Pittsburgh!!

Love,

Tina