I finally went downtown. I can’t believe I’ve been here so long and never ventured that way. Of course, this won’t be a shock to those who know me best, my favorite part was riding the bus and subway. All of you were right, the bus/subway crowd is very different in LA compared to Boston. Even still, it was a taste of the Beantown that I still consider home.
What is it about the bus that I love so much? I remember a specific day I was going work when I was especially exhilarated by the trip. It was when I sat shoulder to shoulder with a guy named Charlie (everyone knew his name because he spoke loudly to himself in the third person everyday). He was the nicest schizophrenic I’ve ever met.
I remember telling Anne-Terese that I felt so alive in Boston, especially on the bus, because it felt like I was really a part of a community- a real community not divided by race, economics or even mental health. I remember saying that I was living the life I want to live when I literally rub shoulders with the mentally ill and others who are so different from me. Of course I know that’s exactly why most people don’t like riding the bus. I don’t know why I’m wired this way.
Anyway, I had forgotten about that conversation until yesterday when on the bus I met a guy named Dwayne an artist/homeless man. He was super nice, just a little lonely. We chatted for awhile and I felt alive again. And I went to the Grand Central Market downtown and mixed it up with every race possible! It was awesome. I crave diversity. It was good for me to remember this, since West LA is diverse in race, but not economic status. I have to make sure I get out of this area regularly and experience LA for the diverse crazy place it is.
All this to say, I was a little melancholy yesterday missing my friends in Boston, but also energized by remembering what makes me love life. The day can be summed up by a quote I saw yesterday painted on the side of a building downtown, “In this world there is a painful progress, longing for what lies behind and dreaming for the future.”
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2 comments:
Ah yes, riding the bus in LA. I'll never forget the first (and only) time I rode the bus in LA. I was about 7 years old and my mom took my sister and me on the bus into town to meet my dad at work.
A woman asked mom what she was doing riding the bus with her children, and didn't she "know that the scum of the earth ride the bus?" Those were in the days LONG before the subway came to LA.
Hey Angelou- just missing you so I thought I'd check your blog; you are about as current as I am! Let's catch up soon. Did I mention that I miss you?
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