On The Bus

I rode the bus the other day.  Several times, in fact.  As I sat there, watching an endless flow of people running before me, I had to wonder.....where are they going?  Where did they come from?

An old man, bundled up in his second hand, dirty clothes sat in the corner of a seat.  He looked at the world out of blank eyes that didn't seem to register anyone or anything around him.  No one spoke to him.

A group of women, obviously several generations of family, all speaking what sounded like an African dialect.  They ranged in age from extremely old to a young child, and all of them helped each other carry their many bags of groceries.  When their bottles of Hawaiian Punch kept falling to the floor, on to my feet, I offered to put them in the seat next to me and earned a dirty look from the middle aged woman.  The young mother looked surprised when I offered, and when she looked at me out of one of the darkest skinned faces I've ever seen I thought....wow, she is so beautiful.

A woman with silver all through her hair and a scarf covering it told her fellow passengers that she was born in '77 and I thought...good grief, do I look that old??

A young couple sat together, whispering in each other's ears and laughing at an intimate joke while they pored over a city map, trying to find their destination and wondering out loud if they were on the right route.

Young men with music blasting in their ears looked at me with rebellion written all over their faces.

Every rider answered my questions about bus routes...but every driver treated me like an idiot.

People of all ages, sex, and race greeted one another as they boarded the bus, treating each other like old friends.

Every single person thanked the drivers and told them to have a good day.

I wanted to sit in the back of the bus and ride it all day long, taking photos of the little world within a world. Where are these people going?  Who are they?  What makes them who they are, and where have they been? How can each person be so beautiful and unique?

We are all One.