So this has got me thinking. We take so much for granted that was completely non-existent 10 or 20 or 50 or 100 years ago, or that is still completely non-existent in other parts of the world.
I thought of this: Every day, I take the bus to work. The bus appears outside my apartment - literally just across the street - and drops me five minutes from work. For $2 one way. That's kind of amazing. Someone else negotiates traffic for me, and I just drink my coffee, listen to music, maybe sleep a little. I don't have to find somewhere to park, or remember to get gas, or change the oil.
In fact, if the bus breaks down, I just stand by the side of the street and wait for another one to come. I don't have to call AAA. I abandon that two-ton sucker in the middle of the road and get on another, and not only is this legal, it's what I'm TOLD to do.
I thought of this: Every day, I take the bus to work. The bus appears outside my apartment - literally just across the street - and drops me five minutes from work. For $2 one way. That's kind of amazing. Someone else negotiates traffic for me, and I just drink my coffee, listen to music, maybe sleep a little. I don't have to find somewhere to park, or remember to get gas, or change the oil.
In fact, if the bus breaks down, I just stand by the side of the street and wait for another one to come. I don't have to call AAA. I abandon that two-ton sucker in the middle of the road and get on another, and not only is this legal, it's what I'm TOLD to do.
Fifty years ago, if I boarded the bus and there was nowhere to sit, the social expectation was that a man would give up his seat. And, if he started a conversation, or asked me on a date, I would be under a social obligation to oblige. In this century, in another country, I might have to have my father, brother, or husband with me just to ride the bus. If I sat with or talked to or even looked at a strange man, I could be shunned from my church, my community, and my family.
But this is not how I ride the bus today. I'm not expecting anyone to give up a seat for me until I'm pregnant, old, or on crutches (whichever comes first?) and you better believe that if a gentleman sees cause to invite me to dinner, I ain't really plannin' to acquiesce. I can sit wherever there's a seat open - and I can talk to whoever I please.
And all things considered, the bus runs on time. Sometimes it's late, once in a very great while it doesn't come at all, and sometimes it runs early and I miss it. But most of the time, I walk out the door at 6:34, hop on, and arrive at work at 7:16. It doesn't break down. It doesn't get stuck in traffic. We keep on moving, and all I have to do is sit.
That's pretty amazing.
