WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022 RIDING THE BUS

 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022 RIDING THE BUS

Note, I had another topic in mind for today, but two days ago (on Monday), I rode the bus from my suburb to downtown Austin.  

At the last census, Austin is the eleventh largest city in the United States. To me, that makes it a “real city”!!  (Whatever that means!!!).  I live in a northeast suburb called Georgetown.  Georgetown was for most of its life a real town on its own.  It has a college (aka “university”), a courthouse (as the county seat of Williamson County, its own history quite separated from Austin.  

But, as Austin has grown significantly in the last two decades, there has been encroachment.  When I moved to Texas nine years ago, I lived in Leander.  I (we) picked Leander as it really was a ‘newish’ suburb but had mass transit to Austin (both light-rail train and commuter bus).  In my two previous positions, I could walk (Dakota State), or drive scenic backroads (Quinnipiac).  I wasn’t ready for a tough commute (which it would be).  

Georgetown is on the cusp of mass transit.  Within the community there was a bus service that ended about a year ago - not enough riders to pay the bills. 

*****

For Monday I needed to get downtown to my PCP - primary care physician.  She had been in Cedar Park - another north suburb when I first had an appointment with her.  I wanted to stay with a physician who knew me.  But, she lives on the south side of Austin, and when her health provider opened a downtown Austin clinic, she moved to that facility.  In the four years, I’ve visited her at that facility, I’ve driven most times and taken the light rail train once.  With the price of gas relatively high, and with the stress of driving in morning rush hour traffic, I opted to take a bus.

CapMetro is the Austin area mass transit agency.  I took buses (and on a few occasions - the light rail train) from Leander to campus when I taught at the University of Texas - which is about 16 blocks north of downtown Austin.  

So, I planned out my trip.  I opted to drive to a “Park and Ride” facility about fifteen miles away and catch a limited-stop bus.  I bought my ticket online and showed up about five minutes early.  My “ticket” was a QR code so I scanned it with a QR reader and we started downtown.  It took about 55 minutes to get to my dropoff point and then I walked ¾ of a mile to the clinic.  

That in-and-of-itself is no big deal.  The big deal is that I was one of the few white people on the bus, and I was one of two senior women on the bus.  In my suburb - and in my activities, I am almost always with white people.  Here there were Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, and mixed individuals.  

I put this in perspective with my community of mostly White people.  

I saw a man stretched out on a sidewalk asleep - no pillow, no backpack, nothing.  I’m not sure if he was drunk or drugged.

I saw an area where homeless people sleep (near the university).  There were maybe fifteen to twenty of them there.  There is a rescue mission downtown (about six blocks from the Capitol Building).  

Some people suggest that homeless people can have mental problems, or alcohol or drug issues.  I don’t know.

Austin is VERY DIVERSE.  In the past, I’ve commented on how the University of Texas is very diverse as well.  In my research, the trends seem to suggest that white people will no longer be a majority in terms of race in the United States in the future.  (The research I’ve seen suggests about 2041 to 2046).  

What will America be like then?  In my community, there will be a different mixture.  There may be a different religious basis - with more Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and others.  Skin tones will matter less. 

The bus people probably aren’t quite indicative of the nature of race and culture in Austin.  Generally, those with more money will be driving cars, and those with fewer funds will be riding the bus.  But, in this world, it does seem to take a variety of people to make everything function.  Some will be the CEOs and some the janitors, some will be the teachers and some will be the students.  But, many of the bus people seemed to be working and not wealthy.

I’ve also heard predictions that in a few centuries, race differences will be almost non-existent.  We see some of this already as couples where one person is white and the other is black marry and the children have characteristics of both parents.  We are becoming more diverse.

I’m throwing in some lyrics from the rock band Chicago - Dialogue

A:  Don’t you see starvation in the city where you live

All the needless hunger

All the needless pain

B: I haven’t been there lately, the country seems so fine

The neighbors don’t seem hungry

They haven’t got the time.

A: Will you try to change things, use the power that you have,

The power of a million new ideas?

B: What is this power you speak of and this need for things to

Change? I always thought That everything was fine

So, what does riding the bus mean for me?  That I’m a minority - with a steady (retirement) income, a car, gas in the car (at $4:50+ a gallon), three meals a day (plus snacks).  I’m not a homeless person, I’m not a street person.  

Am I making a difference?  

Not with this group.  

Am I blind to the needs of others?

Sometimes (maybe most of the time)

Karen

June 29, 2022