TRUE NYC BUS ADVENTURE: FREE vs. BROKE The bus, the Q18 local, was free this morning. What a terrible thing! Or so it seemed at the time roughly an hour ago. I was prepped, had the card out, wrist flexed and ready to let it be swallowed by the what?, the collection box, when the bus driver barks, its free, its free! Cant you read the sign? And sure enough, I look down and see a sign scrawled in marker taped to the box: BROKE. Shamed, I slump toward the back of the bus behind the old Haitian woman who always thanks me when I hold the door open for her. The bus driver was growing more irritated with every person in line, Its free, its free, cant you read the sign!? Now if the sign had said, FREE, then perhaps the line would have moved a bit smoother. But clarity on hand-scrawled signage is perhaps too much to hope for. Clearly the poor box was broke yet unable to make money; this made things far too ironic for a Friday morning. Watching this disgruntled parade from my seat, I couldnt figure out who I was more irritated at: the barking bus driver or glum passengers whose once sacred routine had been callously interrupted. Can you imagine, poor things deprived of the satisfying *slurrrrrp of the box as it eats their card, no barely legible digital readout. A bad start to the day for many, how dare the city give me something free! how wasteful! Im writing my council person! Luckily for me my day was ending and I was heading home. Finally, it occurs to me that my getting irritated at people getting irritated at getting something free was sublimely stupid. Then the precious thought: perhaps I was the stupider! And I wish I couldve seen what a big, stupid grin I had for the rest of the trip. A stupid shit-eating grin thanks to a broke-ass box giving out free rides. Its free, its free! Cant you read the sign? I make it to my stop and this time when I hold the door open for the old Haitian lady, she says, why thank you, darling, and pats me on the arm. Ive never rated darling before, and now a pat too. Mustve been the stupid grin. The best things in life are free, but, I admit, it helps to be stupid. ~RSH
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 14:07:15 +0000
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