911 at the IndyGo bus stop

911, What’s your location.

I thought the 911 operators asked what’s my emergency. Not the case.

Ohio and Meridian, northeast corner. A man has fallen on the sidewalk and can’t get up. (yes, I said that.) We think he had a seizure.

Are people with him?

Yes, he is surrounded by people, but not medical professionals…

I called 911 today. I was on IndyGo, we stopped at Ohio and Meridian like the other buses, but outside our IndyGo bus, a man fell over. People surrounded him. Other people asked other people what was going on. Nobody was calling 911. I know there are theories about groups of people not taking action because they see other people, and assume someone else will take care of it.

Not on my watch. Not on my bus.

Sagging Pants, IndyGo Dress Code

School’s back in session and students are riding IndyGo. One would think they would ride the yellow buses, which pass the IndyGo regularly, but there are students on my bus. A cute young lady who attends Herron High School boarded the bus today in khaki pants, red shirt and red sweater. I love the new dress code. Students look professional, yet youthful.

Then a young man boarded IndyGo, and I thought he should be on the way to school, but his lack of dress code told me otherwise. Black hat with a map of Atlanta highways (this could be a whole blog entry itself), bill straight with the shiny, round sticker on it. I know that I don’t know about hat fashion; however, I don’t understand why the shiny, round sticker stays on the hat. When I buy new clothes, I remove the stickers and tags before wearing in public.

If someone knows about this shiny, round sticker on the bill of the hat fashion statement, please explain. And he wore black jeans, not just low rise, but sagging to mid thigh. And there was a belt on these sagging pants. Again, not an expert on the fashion “the kids are wearing” these days, but sagging seems dated. Maybe I’m dated.

I took a Civic to catch IndyGo today

I missed the bus today. On my way to the stop, I saw it zoom by. To be fair, it was earlier than normal by about 4-5 minutes. I walked past my neighbor on the way to the stop, then walked past him the other way a minute later.

“I missed my bus,” I said.
“Really? Well get in. Let’s catch it,” he said.
“No, it’s OK. I’ll just drive,” I answer.
“Really, get in. Let’s catch the bus,” he said with such conviction. I got in his Civic, and we drove to catch the bus. On the way downtown, we passed several stops with people at them, people usually on my bus. We knew the bus was early, and they had missed it. The story may have been better if we stopped to pick them up, but remember, I don’t really know these folks, I just recognize them from the bus. And, we’re in a Civic.

Finally, halfway to downtown, we pull up in front of the IndyGo, and I hop out of the Civic, and hop on the IndyGo. People on my IndyGo route recognize and me, know I get on much earlier in the route, and one even asks, “Did you just take a car to catch the bus?” a little laughing, a little believing this is not far-fetched for the IndyGo girl.

“Yes, that just happened,” I said loudly enough for other people to notice.

And then I stepped on my soapbox, and announced to the riders of IndyGo that this is why we need the bus tracking system. If you are new to my blog or don’t know about the tracking system, link to www.ctabustracker.com. It shows you, in real time, where your bus is along the route, and how soon it will be at the next stop. I found out yesterday that IndyGo has this technology, but lacks funding to work out the challenges and implement. This small improvement would make such a big impact to IndyGo.

If you want to share your support, log on to www.indygo.net/feedback.asp and say you want the bus tracker system. Seriously, I took a Civic to catch the IndyGo this morning. Stayed tuned, this is just the beginning…

Why Lie, It's For Beer

So I haven’t seen anyone else making out in alleys or on IndyGo, but I did observe the best little kid ever. My friends and I are walking to lunch, when I notice a mom and her son (who I almost missed because he was wearing camouflage) and daughter, about six and four years old, respectively. We stop at the corner of Washington and Illinois, and a panhandler featuring a sign that reads, “Why Lie, It’s for Beer” is also at this corner.

Then I hear the cute little boy in camouflage shorts say, “Hey, hey, I tried to say hi to you and you ignored me.” I turn around to watch this. “That’s right, I’m talking to you,” the little camo kid said. He was pointing at the honest panhandler. The mom was mortified. She wasn’t speaking. The panhandler didn’t say a word either and looked quite surprised. “Mom, I tried to say hi to him, and he just ignored me.”

The light changed, and the little lighted man on the crosswalk sign said we had about 27 seconds to cross the street. The mom grabbed her kids and crossed, leaving the panhandler on the corner. They didn’t give him any beer money.

Making Out in an Alley

So this didn’t happen on IndyGo, but on Pennsylvania Ave instead. Specifically, just east of Pennsylvania in an alley. I was walking to lunch when I noticed two hardworking folks making out in the alley between a truck and a brick wall! I stopped and must have looked shocked. They looked back at me and just laughed. I can't related this back to IndyGo, being green or anything else, but two people necking in an alley in downtown Indianapolis made me smile.

IndyGo Observations

IndyGo has been boring recently, no good blogging material. Then I shifted my focus, and said to myself, “if you can’t find something interesting on this bus, you aren’t looking close enough.” Here’s what I observed.

One French braid, a trashy romance novel, a silver charm bracelet. A man using a binder clip to keep his shirt together (The binder clip is the new safety pin?). A lady with two large purses, not an extra bag or a briefcase, two large fashionable purses. A woman I thought was a nun, but when she turned around she was wearing a jersey and a head wrap. My bad. A woman walking with a huge yellow scarf/shawl, and yes, it is colder than yesterday, but no, it is not cold enough for a scarf/shawl. A jurse. If you are not familiar with this lingo, this is a jean purse. It had tassels.

And my favorite…a Dora the Explorer backpack. Or should I say la mochila de Dora la Exlporada.

Nine Yards of IndyGo

Some people use their IndyGo bus riding time to listen to music, read the paper or a magazine or just relax. Today, the lady sitting in front of me used her IndyGo time to knit. Knitting needles, yarn, the whole nine yards of it.

When she boarded IndyGo, I immediately noticed her appearance and choice of footwear, and thought, “She looks like a lady who rides the bus to save the planet.” I couldn’t determine what the knitted end product will be; however, I did notice it will feature strategically placed oval holes along a diagonal.

I learned something this week. I shouldn’t judge people by their Birkenstocks, nor by their bus behavior. I had made assumptions about another rider, a young professional man who always listened to his ipod and sits in the first seats, the seats IndyGo labels as reserved for seniors and people with disabilities. I learned that just because you can’t easily see a disability, doesn’t mean someone doesn’t have one.

On a lighter note, I looked out the window today and noticed a dad pushing his baby in a stroller along the Cultural Trail. He looked really happy. That made me smile.

IndyGo Hillbilly Budhists

I board IndyGo (one of the plant fuel-running eco-versions) and realize the air is on, point IndyGo, but it is not cold, minus IndyGo. I am flustered. I am hot, sweaty, my smooth straighten hair is turning frizzy and flat.

Then my professional dancer friend, no not that kind of professional dancer, boards IndyGo. He agrees it’s humid, and then explains to me that I need to meditate and “ohm.” The expression on my face doesn’t look like an “ohm.” I do, however, feel as if I’m in hot yoga.

Then he said, “It’s kind of like Hillbilly Budhism.” At that point, my mean face breaks, and I chill out. Pun intended.