Monday morning after the Giants upset the Packers it was time to head back to New York and I had another thirty-hour marathon bus trip to look forward to. My bus was scheduled to leave Green Bay at 9:20am and I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get to the station so that there would be no way I miss the ride. One item that plagued me while I was in the central time zone was that my cell phone was zapped by the change of time and always displayed the wrong hour. When I set my alarm to wake up Monday morning, I forgot to take this into consideration. As a result, instead of being an hour and twenty minutes early for my bus, I only ended up being twenty minutes early.
A cab picked me and was going to take me to the Greyhound station, but on the way the driver received a call to pick another passenger. The address the driver went to was actually the front of a bar and the passenger was a half-drunk Giants fan. He was waiting outside with some girl and he had a Giants jersey on. This was a few minutes before 9am, the Giants game the day before ended about 7pm, so its quite possible this fan had been drinking and partying over the course of the last thirteen hours. The girl didn't come with him and he needed to be dropped off at a hotel that was only a few blocks from the Greyhound station. The cab driver congradulated us both on the Giants win and all chatted briefly about the game. Since I had a Yankees hat on both the driver and the drunk guy knew immediately which team I was in town for to root for. Even though the drunk guy was only going to his hotel, he kept asking the driver if he'll be able to make the airport by 1pm. At some points he seemed to know what was going on, and on other times he was totally out of it. His fare came to $5 and he simply flipped a five dollar bill at the driver that landed on the drunk guy's shoulder, the driver actually had to pick it up.
I was at my station only a few minutes after that and I got to see inside the facility, something I didn't have a chance to do when I arrived a few days earlier. It seemed alright inside, but didn't look inside to see the toilets to make a full evaluation of the place. The bus arrrived on time and as we lined up outside to get on, I noticed in the corner of my eye that there was one guy about my age, maybe a few years younger, looking in my direction. I ran a quick scan in my head if it was someone I might've known or met in the past, perhaps another New Yorker who had made the trip out here for the game. My mind was drawing a blank, so I took it nothing more than he happened to be looking towards my way as we were on line. He got on the bus before me, and when I got on the bus I was scanning around for a place to sit. When I was about to walk past his seat, he motioned to get up to place his bag in the overhead compartment, and then something odd happened. He tapped my shoulder and said something to the extent of, "I'm siting here", or "sit here". I didn't fully hear or understand what he said, but the fact he was staring at me a few minutes ago and that now it seemed like he invited me to sit with him, I just made like I didn't hear anything and walked right by his seat. I took a spot across the aisle and a few rows behind him.
The stranger looked back a few times of where I was sitting, but I started drinking a water bottle as if nothing was wrong. I needed time to examine the situation of whether this guy was a homosexual or not. Was he asking me to sit with him, or did he see me motion towards his chair and he wanted to let me know that area was taken? The fact I caught him looking at me made me feel this guy was probably gay and looking to strike up a conversation with me. He didn't look or dress in any way that would make himself seem gay, but almost never do you tap a stranger on the shoulder and ask them to sit with you for a friendly conversation, so my final prognosis was this was a case of the gay. It was certainly a creepy way to start the ride out with before the bus had even moved one inch. From Green Bay I had to transfer over in a town called Appleton to get a bus to Milwaukee, and it seems my new mystery friend was going the same way. That must have been his final destination as luckily I didn't see him anymore after Milwaukee. The bus was scheduled to arrive in Chicago(a city I'm growing to loathe) at 3:30pm and I had to take at a 4:00pm bus to go to Cleveland, but of course another bad experience with Chicago occured, this time it was the traffic coming into the city that had the bus running late. It looked as if I was going to miss that 4:00pm bus and either had to wait another few hours for another bus, or might even have to spend the night in Chicago. There's always something when I have to pass through Chicago.
The bus arrived about 3:52pm, which had me go inside the station and scamble around to find out which gate the next bus was leaving from. Naturally, nobody had a clue and there were no customer service reps in sight. Finally, there was a last minute announcement about a bus that was going to stop off in Cleveland. I wasn't completely sure if that was my correct bus, but it was a 4pm bus and I wanted to get out of Chicago desperately, so I jumped on it. The iternary for this bus was to travel through a few towns in Indiana and then make its final stop in Cleveland, where I would have to transfer to my final bus to take me to New York. As we enter Indiana and are on our way to its first stop, there was a slight commotion towards the front of the bus. I couldn't make out what was going on, but people were talking loud, making noises, and even laughing at certain times. When we reached the first stop, a few people got off, but then some guy stood up and told his friend that his jacket was about to smell like old lady's pee. Then more of the story unfolded to me, an elderly woman had urinated in her seat before getting off at the stop. I looked at the floor and noticed a pile of liquid had accumulated near her seat and was spreading down towards the back of the bus where I was. I made sure my feet were up and didn't have to worry about my bag which was in the overhead compartment.
The bus driver went inside the station to retrieve a plastic bag to place over the soiled seat, as the bus was full and someone needed to sit on it. I was happy that at first the urine gave off no smell, but by the time we pulled into the next town of Gary, the bus stunk like rotten food. Luckily, the bus must have a good ventalation system, as moments later it seemed like the smell disappeared once people started complaining. There was another bleep on the radar as another point in our journey the bus pulled over to the side of the road, and everyone rolled their eyes as the driver announced the bus was out of power. That only lasted a few minutes as the driver was able to do something to get the engine running again. We arrived in Cleveland about 12:30am and when I got into the station, I surprised to see two Amish gentlemen layed out asleep on the benches. Then I looked back on both my rides back and forth and realized there had been quite a few Amish people on these buses, I thought they weren't allowed to use them. The waiting area at Cleveland also had a TV screen airing a basketball game, which I caught the Amish people taking a look at as well. It seems once they get outside their communities they break they rules left and right. Like Chicago, there was no clear indication of which gate I had to catch the next bus on, but I did see a sign for Newark and New York for one line, so I went with that one, and it turns out it was correct. The bus left at 2:00am and was on route to pass through Pennsylvania into New Jersey, and then make the final stop at New York's Penn Station.
As all bus drivers do, this driver gave a number of announcements and instructions, but the one item that bothered me was he kept referring to the bus as a 'coach', instead of a bus. How did you get here? Oh, I took a coach. I noticed they do that with airplanes as well, instead of calling them what they are, airplanes, they try to put a positive spin on them by referring to them as an airbus. Okay everybody, please line up at the gate to board the airbus. How was your airbus food? What time did your airbus land? Next thing you know they'll be calling planes 'aircoaches'. Anyways, departing Cleveland I saw a ball of fire shooting into the air. At first, it looked like it was an apartment building that caught on fire, but as we got closer it turned out to be some sort of power plant or factory dispensing flames out of a smoke stack. That was about all the excitement there was for the trip back. I was able to catch a few hours of sleep in the early morning hours, and other times would just stare out the window and wait for the sun to rise. We made that quick pit stop in Newark, New Jersey before the bus entered the tunnel to bring us into Manhattan. The weather seemed identical from the time I left the city, mid 50s with small rain falling down, but at least this time I wasn't feeling sick. New York City gave me a hero's welcome home by having my subway line shut down for nearly thirty minutes due to a signal malfunction, but overall I felt good being back.
People complain the subways smell like urine, but maybe they never rode a Greyhound...
A cab picked me and was going to take me to the Greyhound station, but on the way the driver received a call to pick another passenger. The address the driver went to was actually the front of a bar and the passenger was a half-drunk Giants fan. He was waiting outside with some girl and he had a Giants jersey on. This was a few minutes before 9am, the Giants game the day before ended about 7pm, so its quite possible this fan had been drinking and partying over the course of the last thirteen hours. The girl didn't come with him and he needed to be dropped off at a hotel that was only a few blocks from the Greyhound station. The cab driver congradulated us both on the Giants win and all chatted briefly about the game. Since I had a Yankees hat on both the driver and the drunk guy knew immediately which team I was in town for to root for. Even though the drunk guy was only going to his hotel, he kept asking the driver if he'll be able to make the airport by 1pm. At some points he seemed to know what was going on, and on other times he was totally out of it. His fare came to $5 and he simply flipped a five dollar bill at the driver that landed on the drunk guy's shoulder, the driver actually had to pick it up.
I was at my station only a few minutes after that and I got to see inside the facility, something I didn't have a chance to do when I arrived a few days earlier. It seemed alright inside, but didn't look inside to see the toilets to make a full evaluation of the place. The bus arrrived on time and as we lined up outside to get on, I noticed in the corner of my eye that there was one guy about my age, maybe a few years younger, looking in my direction. I ran a quick scan in my head if it was someone I might've known or met in the past, perhaps another New Yorker who had made the trip out here for the game. My mind was drawing a blank, so I took it nothing more than he happened to be looking towards my way as we were on line. He got on the bus before me, and when I got on the bus I was scanning around for a place to sit. When I was about to walk past his seat, he motioned to get up to place his bag in the overhead compartment, and then something odd happened. He tapped my shoulder and said something to the extent of, "I'm siting here", or "sit here". I didn't fully hear or understand what he said, but the fact he was staring at me a few minutes ago and that now it seemed like he invited me to sit with him, I just made like I didn't hear anything and walked right by his seat. I took a spot across the aisle and a few rows behind him.
The stranger looked back a few times of where I was sitting, but I started drinking a water bottle as if nothing was wrong. I needed time to examine the situation of whether this guy was a homosexual or not. Was he asking me to sit with him, or did he see me motion towards his chair and he wanted to let me know that area was taken? The fact I caught him looking at me made me feel this guy was probably gay and looking to strike up a conversation with me. He didn't look or dress in any way that would make himself seem gay, but almost never do you tap a stranger on the shoulder and ask them to sit with you for a friendly conversation, so my final prognosis was this was a case of the gay. It was certainly a creepy way to start the ride out with before the bus had even moved one inch. From Green Bay I had to transfer over in a town called Appleton to get a bus to Milwaukee, and it seems my new mystery friend was going the same way. That must have been his final destination as luckily I didn't see him anymore after Milwaukee. The bus was scheduled to arrive in Chicago(a city I'm growing to loathe) at 3:30pm and I had to take at a 4:00pm bus to go to Cleveland, but of course another bad experience with Chicago occured, this time it was the traffic coming into the city that had the bus running late. It looked as if I was going to miss that 4:00pm bus and either had to wait another few hours for another bus, or might even have to spend the night in Chicago. There's always something when I have to pass through Chicago.
The bus arrived about 3:52pm, which had me go inside the station and scamble around to find out which gate the next bus was leaving from. Naturally, nobody had a clue and there were no customer service reps in sight. Finally, there was a last minute announcement about a bus that was going to stop off in Cleveland. I wasn't completely sure if that was my correct bus, but it was a 4pm bus and I wanted to get out of Chicago desperately, so I jumped on it. The iternary for this bus was to travel through a few towns in Indiana and then make its final stop in Cleveland, where I would have to transfer to my final bus to take me to New York. As we enter Indiana and are on our way to its first stop, there was a slight commotion towards the front of the bus. I couldn't make out what was going on, but people were talking loud, making noises, and even laughing at certain times. When we reached the first stop, a few people got off, but then some guy stood up and told his friend that his jacket was about to smell like old lady's pee. Then more of the story unfolded to me, an elderly woman had urinated in her seat before getting off at the stop. I looked at the floor and noticed a pile of liquid had accumulated near her seat and was spreading down towards the back of the bus where I was. I made sure my feet were up and didn't have to worry about my bag which was in the overhead compartment.
The bus driver went inside the station to retrieve a plastic bag to place over the soiled seat, as the bus was full and someone needed to sit on it. I was happy that at first the urine gave off no smell, but by the time we pulled into the next town of Gary, the bus stunk like rotten food. Luckily, the bus must have a good ventalation system, as moments later it seemed like the smell disappeared once people started complaining. There was another bleep on the radar as another point in our journey the bus pulled over to the side of the road, and everyone rolled their eyes as the driver announced the bus was out of power. That only lasted a few minutes as the driver was able to do something to get the engine running again. We arrived in Cleveland about 12:30am and when I got into the station, I surprised to see two Amish gentlemen layed out asleep on the benches. Then I looked back on both my rides back and forth and realized there had been quite a few Amish people on these buses, I thought they weren't allowed to use them. The waiting area at Cleveland also had a TV screen airing a basketball game, which I caught the Amish people taking a look at as well. It seems once they get outside their communities they break they rules left and right. Like Chicago, there was no clear indication of which gate I had to catch the next bus on, but I did see a sign for Newark and New York for one line, so I went with that one, and it turns out it was correct. The bus left at 2:00am and was on route to pass through Pennsylvania into New Jersey, and then make the final stop at New York's Penn Station.
As all bus drivers do, this driver gave a number of announcements and instructions, but the one item that bothered me was he kept referring to the bus as a 'coach', instead of a bus. How did you get here? Oh, I took a coach. I noticed they do that with airplanes as well, instead of calling them what they are, airplanes, they try to put a positive spin on them by referring to them as an airbus. Okay everybody, please line up at the gate to board the airbus. How was your airbus food? What time did your airbus land? Next thing you know they'll be calling planes 'aircoaches'. Anyways, departing Cleveland I saw a ball of fire shooting into the air. At first, it looked like it was an apartment building that caught on fire, but as we got closer it turned out to be some sort of power plant or factory dispensing flames out of a smoke stack. That was about all the excitement there was for the trip back. I was able to catch a few hours of sleep in the early morning hours, and other times would just stare out the window and wait for the sun to rise. We made that quick pit stop in Newark, New Jersey before the bus entered the tunnel to bring us into Manhattan. The weather seemed identical from the time I left the city, mid 50s with small rain falling down, but at least this time I wasn't feeling sick. New York City gave me a hero's welcome home by having my subway line shut down for nearly thirty minutes due to a signal malfunction, but overall I felt good being back.
People complain the subways smell like urine, but maybe they never rode a Greyhound...
Hey does the grey hound over there not have toilet facilities or was she having bladder issues?
ReplyDeleteI'm so curious about that first guy you have no idea. I'd love for you to pump into him on another trip. And that journey sounds so long and lonely, why didn't you go with friends?
Yeah, those buses do have facilities, BUT they're not the cleanest in the world (especially for women having to sit), so I can understand an older person choosing to hold it instead. In this lady's case, she must have not been able to hold it any further.
Deletelol...no thanks, I don't think I want to ever see that guy again. He had a scary look in his eye.
I asked a few close relatives, but they weren't able to make it. It was my fault, I planned the whole thing the last minute so there wasn't really time to get anything organized.
Hope you're doing well!