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12:27 a.m. - 2002-08-28
Community
People who regularly use public transit in Calgary form their own distinct community. We look out for each other.

It starts before sunrise waiting at a stop. Chatting about the weather or the last football/hockey game keeps you conscious until the bus arrives. When it's 35 degrees below zero in the winter it keeps the blood circulating. Chit chat turns into stories swapped about family, friends and neighbours - mutual experiences that bind over time. Usually everyone is included in the conversation although there is no expectation one way or another. Chit chat turns into confidences when someone is going through a crisis - a death of a loved one, trouble with a child - that sort of thing. Whether someone participates or not in the verbal community, they are included in other ways. Someone will hesitate or take their time getting on the bus if they see a regular running late trying to make their connection. Packages are lifted by those stronger, strollers heaved up the steps when necessary. Bullying isn't tolerated in any form at any time.

In a lot of ways the mutuality begins as a survival mechanism - there's an element of ambiguity and exposure to the elements that isn't experienced by car drivers. Drivers control (some would say dominate) the environment while we need to negotiate a place in it. Packed tightly together at rush hour a sense of humour and humanity is a prerequisite for travel. Each person knows that at some time they are going to need the help of one of their fellow travellers even if in just small ways. We all pay it forward - that is what a real community does.

Transit drivers are key in the community. They know their regulars and they watch out for their charges. Having anywhere from 50 to 200 people per ride trust you with their lives and their schedules is a big responsibility. They are often counsellors, parents, social workers and policeman all in a five minute period. They go about their work with humour and quiet grace rarely realizing how much of a difference they make in some peoples'lives - the elderly who are lonely, the challenged who depend on them, the kids who want to be independent but still need that safe haven once in a while. They are truly good people who are rarely appreciated for the value they add to the city's social fabric.

The ride home at night - a time of venting or release from the tensions of the day. More stories swapped, jokes told, troubles aired. Tears sometimes,laughter often. I sometimes sit and create stories in my mind about the crossing of paths and the influences each individual has on the group and on other individuals. Sometimes a random comment not even meant to be heard can solve someone else's problem, trigger a new idea or direction in life, make one feel less isolated. Work chit chat can offer new job leads, great investment information and warn of trouble in an industry or service long before it becomes public knowledge. Sitting quietly and listening on public transit can sometimes provide the best practical education on human nature. The best lesson is that there is still a lot more good in people than bad.

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