I don’t drive and my only transportation is the public transit. My trip to my downtown studio is first the bus, then RT and transfer to the subway line. The bus ride to the RT Station usually takes about twenty minutes to half an hour depends on the traffic. I usually spent my time reading the paper or just think of idea for my art.
After last night snowstorm somehow I was expecting the unexpected. I put on a extra layer of clothing ( a down vest) and packed a banana along with my packed lunch. I was not surprise how much snow been piled up on our street. As I was approaching the bus stop I noticed a woman on my bus trip was standing right on the street corner instead of the bus stop. As I got closer I realized the reason: the snowplow has built a three foot wall of snow right in front of our bus stop. She told me we should just wait on the corner and the bus will stop for us.
Soon enough, our bus arrived and picked us up at the street corner I even found a seat at the back of the almost full bus. No more than five minutes later, before I even had time to read my newspaper, the bus driver announced our bus is out of service and she is turning back north, we all have to get off and wait for the next bus!
All the passengers started to get off the bus right into the strong wind and steady snow fall. There was not even a bus shelter close by
I was about to leave the bus, I turned and ask the driver “is that mean eventually this bus would go to the RT Station?”
She answer “yes, but will take an hour”
“Well in that case I will stay on the bus and go for the ride” I explain to her with all those passengers waiting for the next bus it will be impossible for me to even get on and I am not in a hurry to go any where.
I was the only passenger going back north and before I even pull out my news paper I looked out the window and started to admire the magical scenery before me.
With the heavy snow fall last night it turned the city into a winter wonderland. Every trees, every blades of grass, every buildings been cover with snow. The housed looked like the ones we see in a Christmas card.
For the next half an hour, I was the only passenger on the bus, and the ever changing winter scenery was so magical even the garbage cans looked pretty with the snow. The bus passed by highway, residence streets, parks, creeks, houses and commercial buildings. All those places I never been to and some I would love to explore later in the year when the weather is warmer.
The bus drove by many houses, I seen residence busy digging their cars out from the snow but still no one was taking the bus .Finally, when it approaching back to where I live a few passengers started to came on board and then I noticed our bus was right behind another bus!
As the two buses almost back to back driving on the snowy streets most of the passengers got on the first bus but not the one I was on. When both buses stopped for the light and then the first bus couldn’t start again, it got stuck in the snow!
After few more turn of its wheels the door of the first bus open and emptying all its passengers. They started to come on to my bus. within minutes our bus was packed to the max and no more room of the at least a dozen and they were left behind. I was feeling rather lucky as I stay warm and had the best seat on the bus and watching all this going on.
As our bus drove pass the next few stops without even stopping because there was just no room anymore. I watch all those rejected faces looking at our bus drove by.
Finally, our bus pull into the RT Station it was a whole hour later than my usual trip but it was the magical hour of my life. I was happy to spent the hour to see the beauty of nature and to discover places otherwise I would not know, it was a hour of my life well spent.
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