Earth Day Fair

Are you going to the Earth Day Fair tomorrow?  Why not consider using a green transportation option?

Did you know you can use Google Maps to plan your trip?  We are planning to ride the bus starting from Clark Campbell Transportation Center to Winston Salem Fairgrounds Annex.  Check out the options we have (https://goo.gl/maps/B1Vr2jz9Dsx) in Google Maps.

COME RIDE!

Melissa Rides to School

This morning I was encouraged by Melissa's example of active transportation. She commuted to school on her bike.  Watch the short vlog for action shots from her ride. 

Active communities have strong public transportation, pedestrian, and bicycle infrastructure.   Join the local movement to celebrate and strengthen our active transportation options. 

COME RIDE  ***Did you see that April 25 is a FARE FREE Day?*** 

Precious

Life is precious.   Driving the bus has given me new eyes to see how precious it is.  In the act of kneeling the bus for an elderly rider or counting a baby in the arms of her mother as a passenger, I get to see it.  Bus drivers are afforded a chance to know their passengers and are part of community building.

We made the short documentary film, "Bus Stop Jobs" to depict a day in the life of a passenger.  After the premiere of the film, the director said she loved how it shows how women find ways to support each other. I have shown the film many times to audiences such as policymakers and students.  In my repeated viewings I came to realize how much I admire both of its "sheroes." 

The film is a powerful 10 minute short that will inspire you.  You can imagine my joy the other day when I got to drive one of the stars.

WATCH Bus Stop Jobs on YouTube and COME RIDE with us!

SAFETY NOTE: Selfie taken while bus was secured

Cadet

Thank you to the Safety Department and all the Bus Drivers who have taught me in the class room and on the road.  I graduated to driving on my own and I am so very grateful for your instruction.

The last two weeks have been a road trip though Winston-Salem as I shadowed and learned from senior drivers.    I was impressed by their driving skills, rapport with passengers and intimate knowledge of their routes. 

The cadet process started and ended on a high note because the routes were in my own community within our city.  My first day was with a quiet leader whose generosity and composure I look forward to emulating.   The process ended with a supportive colleague whose encouragement made the final driving test less onerous.

The routes during the past two weeks took me to new places within the city that I got to experience behind the wheel while hearing the perspectives of the person who normally drove the route.   On tight runs with heavy traffic I was amazed how the driver knew the time points and the logistics like clock work.  On countless routes I heard drivers predict who would be waiting at the stop around the corner based on the riders' routines.

I learned from drivers, some of who have more than 30 years of driving for with the company.  I drove with drivers from right here in Winston-Salem as well as from other countries like El Salvador, Ghana, and Ethiopia.   We fellowshipped together and found common ground on the highways and byways of our community.

I got good advice like "Take your time," and if a passenger is rude, "Don't take it personal."   My favorite piece of advice was: "The number 1 survival skill is bring plenty of lunch."   As a runner with a high metabolism the last thing I need is to get "hangry" on the bus.  I have not witnessed much healthy snacking and I catch a few jokes about my eating carrots.  Interacting with so many new people has really been eye opening.

I have learned about half fare passes, bus transfers, and run boards.  I have loaded wheel chairs and knelt the bus all under the watchful eye of a seasoned driver.   I have learn so much as a cadet, about myself and the logistics of driving a bus, that it is hard to put into words.

My heart is full! Thank you for coming along.

Ride Along

“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood….won’t you ride along with me?” sings Daniel Tiger, on the cartoon based on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.

We gathered our supplies: library books and water bottles and change for paying the bus fare (shortest kids are free) and waited at the bus station downtown. The bus station is the main artery downtown and so much life is happening! There was anxiety that we had missed him, or would we get back in time for our next activity? Finally, Phillip drove up a few minutes late on bus #88.

This would be a one-hour excursion going out to the Industries for the Blind off of University Parkway, where many visually impaired people would be getting off work. Riding the bus is a wonderful experience to learn about our community.

In this photo, you’ll see Phillip’s concentrating face in the rearview mirror. To his right is his trainer, as he is still a cadet. She double checks to ensure safety for him in these early days of driving.

Knowing his insecurities about this job, I felt proud when he successfully turned a tight corner or patiently waited for the cars that zoomed around him when he needed to change lanes to get ready to turn. Phillip had wanted to chat and visit with the kids, but this turned out to be a busy route at the time slot we chose to ride, so we just sat quietly in the back. This gave us the opportunity to just ride along and pray for him and try to feel his feels.

We are becoming more united as we try different ways to support Phillip in his new endeavor, seeing first-hand how exhausting it is to maintain concentration driving a bus. Unsolicited, the boys spent a good deal of time yesterday making a new Lego creation together: the blue and white bus, you see in the photo below!

Exhaustion

After 4 days of driving as a cadet, I would like to recount how full my heart is.  Full of stories of human kindness and learning.  Full of learning from noble bus drivers with years of experience, who look forward to seeing their passengers.  I want to write about the thrill of safely making tight turns and the sense of accomplishment of completing a 9-hour straight shift.

But I am exhausted.   I am so very tired that all I really want to do is sleep.

Check my route calendar to see how early my days have begun.

Also, check it for a chance to COME RIDE.  You will be glad you did. And I will be more than glad to see you, a familiar face!

Editor's NOTE: if you read an earlier version of this he had been too tired to get me, his editor, to look for typos.  He should always ask me first before publishing.

Serenity Now

A vlog entry that celebrates driving my first route.  What a blessing to take the wheel as a cadet on route 86.   I commuted on route 86 when I worked in the Innovation Quarter and it is the main route for many of my neighbors to get to work.

License to Drive

Phew!  I was nervous this morning about taking the final test for my Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Class B, with a Passenger endorsement.

The CDL exam begins with the driver providing a detailed pre-trip inspection of the bus.  It moves to the passenger compartment, then the driver compartment inspection. Next comes testing of the air-brakes.

If you pass those obstacles, you move to the driving test on a closed course which involves straight-line backing, off-set backing, and docking in an alley.  Not easy.

Then the final nerve-racking part...driving on the open road while the examiner gives you every imaginable tough situation to drive through, including a pedestrian wandering absentmindedly in front of the bus. What a relief to have passed!

I have a new appreciation and respect for how bus drivers keep the public safe.

Want to ride with me?

I will be updating my schedule on this public calendar.

The Good Neighbor

Fred Rogers, followed the call to love your neighbor as your self. His example shaped my life in profound ways. Reading Maxwell King's book is helping me understand the impact of Rogers' ministry in my own life and vocation.

When I first moved to Waughtown I was afraid of my neighbors.  I overcame those fears in time by getting to know them.  One of the ways it happened was through friendships struck up while waiting at the bus stop. Over the intervening years of riding the bus, I came to realize how the bus brought us together. It brought us together though we were different in all the socio-economic variables that divide. These divisions also make us afraid of one another.

Winston-Salem, with its racial history, stark segregation, and income inequality needs ministers like Fred Rogers to help us understand how love casts out fear.   He was not afraid to love his neighbor and he worked to show the dignity that each of us possesses, just the way we are.

When he sings, "I always wanted to have a neighbor just like you" it is a beautiful message of unconditional love.  How can we see more of our neighbors from this perspective?

Sick Kids

Nothing conjures up my insecurities like a loved one being sick. Last week our 5 year old son had double pink eye.  Phillip tends to think waiting it out is the best policy for dealing with most non-emergent illnesses.  Pink eye is very contagious, and I feared waiting it out would mean many days of school and work missed!

Thankfully we have physician friends who are committed to social justice and part of our network of support, so I phoned in a request for some drops.  These magical drops I have heard about.  These drops that make you no longer contagious within 24 hours.

Walking to the Waughtown pharmacy where my husband and our physician friend know the pharmacist/owner, felt hopeful.  I swallowed my pride and said, "This is embarrassing, but we don't have any insurance currently. Is there any way you can help?"   We don't currently have insurance because bus drivers begin as part time employees without benefits.

What a blessing to hear, "We give all our customers the very best price, especially those with no insurance." I bought the drops for a very reasonable price.   Thankfully, little James and I are the only ones who needed them so far, and boy was I glad to get them.  

Learning how to communicate our need for help can be humiliating or at least humbling.  I feel grateful that friends could help us in our time of need.  How about neighbors who are without insurance? How do they feel? How can we draw more people into social support or networks that provide care?