As I was walking to the gym this morning, a guy stopped me and asked where the Greyhound Terminal was. I pointed to it, it was right down on the corner, and as I walked on I started realizing that as many times as I go down that street, I've forgotten that some people still take the bus for long trips. That's only surprising because I worked for Greyhound for a couple years while in college, in Mankato, Minnesota. It was a low-end, minimum-wage job, mostly selling tickets and schlepping luggage, but I learned a lot there: Geography -- mostly Upper Midwest, or at least those cities that have bus service; The quirks of how people travel; and the colorful Street People that like to (or least used to) hang out at bus depots.
I'd like to think that we all have learned something valuable from every job we've ever had.
After leaving the gym, I decided on my way home to stop at the bus station (I don't think I'd ever been in the Minneapolis terminal) to have a cup of coffee and mingle with passengers waiting for the bus to Chicago or wherever. No dice, it doesn't work that way anymore. Signs: "Passengers only beyond this point." Darn. I guess they don't want the wandering Street People there anymore, and today I was One of Them.
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