I rode the bus yesterday for the first time in over a week. Being on vacation is nice, but it's been so hot I haven't wanted to go out much, certainly not stand for who-knows-how-long on a sweltering street corner waiting for the bus that is always late. I've done some shopping on foot, in the morning before it gets very hot.Still not ideal, but the weather is what it is.
But duty called yesterday, and I had to travel to the library to teach my Saturday afternoon class. We didn't meet last week. Usually I walk... it's about 25 minutes. But yesterday... no way!
So I caught the route 6 bus which was only 5-10 minutes late. I'm very lucky that my closest inbound stop on Lincoln is shaded by a nice, big leafy green tree. I always go 10 minutes early, because very occasionally the bus runs early! So I waited about 20 minutes in the heat, but in the shade and with a decent breeze. Weather can certainly make commuting without a car into a bit of a trial, can't it? I felt for the folks waiting on hot, unshaded corners.
I always like riding DART on Saturdays. There's a whole different feel to it. Although some people are going to or from jobs, there's still a weekend feel to things. Different drivers, too, with lots of variation. I'm told weekend drivers are usually new, with lower seniority. Yesterday's driver was a very cheerful woman, happy and engaged. How nice! Sometimes you get the ones who clearly don't like what they are doing, glum and sometimes even hostile. The worst are the power-mongers who think that now they have the wheel of a bus, they can lord it over all the riders at their mercy. I could tell some good stories!
So it was a nice, short Saturday ride. The library was well-chilled, of course. New bus schedules out in the lobby stand, so I finally stocked on those for all my usual routes. And I decided to walk home, which was hot but ok. I needed to stop at the 7-11 for some milk, anyway. One thing I've learned is that when you don't use a car, it's a good idea to be efficient, and get as much done with each trip as possible. So I got my milk... plus a pint of Ben and Jerry's... who could resist ice cream when the temperature was at the 100 degree mark? It was good, too. I'm glad to see the forecasts showing a break in this heat!
But duty called yesterday, and I had to travel to the library to teach my Saturday afternoon class. We didn't meet last week. Usually I walk... it's about 25 minutes. But yesterday... no way!
So I caught the route 6 bus which was only 5-10 minutes late. I'm very lucky that my closest inbound stop on Lincoln is shaded by a nice, big leafy green tree. I always go 10 minutes early, because very occasionally the bus runs early! So I waited about 20 minutes in the heat, but in the shade and with a decent breeze. Weather can certainly make commuting without a car into a bit of a trial, can't it? I felt for the folks waiting on hot, unshaded corners.
I always like riding DART on Saturdays. There's a whole different feel to it. Although some people are going to or from jobs, there's still a weekend feel to things. Different drivers, too, with lots of variation. I'm told weekend drivers are usually new, with lower seniority. Yesterday's driver was a very cheerful woman, happy and engaged. How nice! Sometimes you get the ones who clearly don't like what they are doing, glum and sometimes even hostile. The worst are the power-mongers who think that now they have the wheel of a bus, they can lord it over all the riders at their mercy. I could tell some good stories!
So it was a nice, short Saturday ride. The library was well-chilled, of course. New bus schedules out in the lobby stand, so I finally stocked on those for all my usual routes. And I decided to walk home, which was hot but ok. I needed to stop at the 7-11 for some milk, anyway. One thing I've learned is that when you don't use a car, it's a good idea to be efficient, and get as much done with each trip as possible. So I got my milk... plus a pint of Ben and Jerry's... who could resist ice cream when the temperature was at the 100 degree mark? It was good, too. I'm glad to see the forecasts showing a break in this heat!
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