So I’m standing on my corner waiting for the bus like I do every morning. I start hearing singing in the distance, carrying on the wind. It’s not music from a car stereo either. And it’s eerie. Like it’s coming out of a tiny headphone speaker reminiscent of an affect Pink Floyd used on the opening of “Wish You Were Here”. It gets louder. It sounds like a CTA train conductor speaker. Coming towards me on Touhy Ave. is a CTA bus with “FORREST GLENN GARAGE” on it’s marquee. As it gets closer it suddenly becomes obvious it’s the driver singing in his manual stop-announcement microphone and it’s being broadcast out of the external speaker on the side of the bus as well as the internal.
He stops where I’m waiting and opens the doors. Now there’s a point where being ready for something is all important and this was it. Usually I try to be, however it seems mostly whatever I could anticipate happening doesn’t and shit like this happens instead. The bus is stopped with it’s doors open and the driver is looking at me. The question presents itself. What do I do? Sadly natural instinct took over and I waived him off thinking he must be mistaking me for someone who rides that route. As he closes the door, starts singing again and pulls away it all suddenly hits me. CTA buses don’t run down Touhy Ave. in Skokie. He wasn’t mistaking me for any passenger waiting for their usual bus! That bus never even comes here! It wasn’t even supposed to be in service! Next the questions flood into my head. What the hell was that? Who was that? Why did he stop? Why was he singing? What song was that? WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T I GET ON THAT FUCKING BUS?! Possible answers flood in. Was that Hank Williams’ ghost? Could we have gone to Nashville? It’s good Friday! Was that the carpenter from Jerusalem all those other people say died this weekend? Was that the devil and the bus to hell? Did he want to take me there so I could rule it with him? WHAT THE FUCK! Well I’ll never know. I could hear him singing out of those speakers nearly a quarter mile away as he went over the I94 bridge and disappeared.
Dammit why didn’t I get on that bus!
He stops where I’m waiting and opens the doors. Now there’s a point where being ready for something is all important and this was it. Usually I try to be, however it seems mostly whatever I could anticipate happening doesn’t and shit like this happens instead. The bus is stopped with it’s doors open and the driver is looking at me. The question presents itself. What do I do? Sadly natural instinct took over and I waived him off thinking he must be mistaking me for someone who rides that route. As he closes the door, starts singing again and pulls away it all suddenly hits me. CTA buses don’t run down Touhy Ave. in Skokie. He wasn’t mistaking me for any passenger waiting for their usual bus! That bus never even comes here! It wasn’t even supposed to be in service! Next the questions flood into my head. What the hell was that? Who was that? Why did he stop? Why was he singing? What song was that? WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T I GET ON THAT FUCKING BUS?! Possible answers flood in. Was that Hank Williams’ ghost? Could we have gone to Nashville? It’s good Friday! Was that the carpenter from Jerusalem all those other people say died this weekend? Was that the devil and the bus to hell? Did he want to take me there so I could rule it with him? WHAT THE FUCK! Well I’ll never know. I could hear him singing out of those speakers nearly a quarter mile away as he went over the I94 bridge and disappeared.
Dammit why didn’t I get on that bus!
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