You meet amazing people in the bus... Also weird ones
I have jury duty. Now, most people would be like, "Jury Duty, what a pain in the (insert body part here)!"
But, I, however, am pretty excited at being selected to do so. I should be looking for work rather than sit around with my laptop and free wifi-, or the 15 dollars per day pay (plus the lonely .34 cents for each mile you have to commute, and the free bus passes galore. Yeah, I have it easy.
Now with the bus, of course I am bound to meet interesting everyday people (or random weirdos like me) and psychos to boot. This morning, on my way to court, took my usual seat in the very front of the bus. You know, the ones where they have you face the windows and are forced to look at other people. I take the front seat because its the best seat in the house! I can keep an eye on everybody and observe.
I was casually minding my own and business, as i looked outside the window when I overheard chunks of conversation that two African American ladies were having next to me. Well it was more like forced to hear considering how mostly everyone on the bus was in a half asleep mode so they were mostly quiet and the two women were so damn loud, their voices could probably be heard outside the bus.
I couldn't help but hear their entire talk. Mostly about God. Sigh...
Now let be clear for all my readers out there, I will never touch the subject of God because everyone is entitled to their opinion and much as I'm entitled to mine and I see it pointless to discuss such taboo and sore subjects with opinionated people. However, just this once, I will bend the rule just a bit because as much as I hated having to be forced the conversation upon, one of the women, proved a theory of mine.
It all started as I stared at the window, my thoughts elsewhere, when the mere sentence, "I love to write I write everyday! I'm gonna write a book about my life."
Of course, inwardly I laughed and mentally said, "Yeah, well get in line sister."
But I sat there listening to the 41 year old woman go on about why she wanted to get here story out.
"For 29 years, I have been a crack and heroin addict. Today, I'm 37 days clean. Thank the Great Lord for this."
I frowned. This woman did not look like an addict. She looked like your everyday lunch lady with kids, and maybe grandkids, but certainly not an addict. And for me 37 days clean seemed simply a few days, not enough to boast about. The way she said it though, made it seem like she went a year without the use of drugs. She was beaming proudly.
The woman next to her was going on and on agreeing that the Lord was blah blah blah and blah blah blah and she also loved to write.
"But you know everything is going to be okay. The Great Lord is on your side." She ended her sermon.
The 41 year old woman nods her head. "Mmmm mmm mmm. Amen, gurl. The lord has cleared the mountains from my sidewalk, lowered the hills from my path, shielded me from temptation. And you know what, he brought me back my life. My son is allowing me to be in his life again and it's all Gods almighty work. Its gonna be okay be cause He reached out to me and took my hand. Everything I have is because of God. The Almighty God didn't turn me away when I was addicted. I don't want to die, but I have all this illnesses. My back hurts, my eye sight's leaving me, I have a virus (I don't know what she meant here), I have some serious health problems. But you know what, with God by my side I know I'll get through this. I say, Lord let thy will be done."
"Mmmhmm... You got that right, gurl. Amen. God is everywhere, and God is everything." The other woman put in. And the conversation continued but even now, my mind is on what she said.
God must be very powerful, if He can convert and ex-drug addict to a straight-edged-God-loving-writer-in-the-process woman. If he can help one person, why can't he do the same to others. Or do we have to be in pretty deep dog poo for him to finally butt in. That kinda seems unfair. Why her and not me, or someone else? Or everybody else.
She did mentioned that she searched for the "Great almighty Lord" and found him at at her at the end of her drug days. Maybe I have to be pumped full of crack for me to meet Him. Because no matter how much I search, he remains eerily silent, letting his minions of the church to all the talking for Him.
How I envy her. She knows her purpose in her life and she has found safety in the invisible hands of a being as real as Big foot. I envy her because she has God on her side and I have myself and my beliefs, and science, and my dog (do dogs believe in God?).
Hearing her story of success has made me think of my theories of the said Almighty God. Question him and his existence. She was a drowning woman saved by a single thought: God, she clung to it with hope and discovered a part of herself that lay dormant for many years. Good for her.
But what about us?
But, I, however, am pretty excited at being selected to do so. I should be looking for work rather than sit around with my laptop and free wifi-, or the 15 dollars per day pay (plus the lonely .34 cents for each mile you have to commute, and the free bus passes galore. Yeah, I have it easy.
Now with the bus, of course I am bound to meet interesting everyday people (or random weirdos like me) and psychos to boot. This morning, on my way to court, took my usual seat in the very front of the bus. You know, the ones where they have you face the windows and are forced to look at other people. I take the front seat because its the best seat in the house! I can keep an eye on everybody and observe.
I was casually minding my own and business, as i looked outside the window when I overheard chunks of conversation that two African American ladies were having next to me. Well it was more like forced to hear considering how mostly everyone on the bus was in a half asleep mode so they were mostly quiet and the two women were so damn loud, their voices could probably be heard outside the bus.
I couldn't help but hear their entire talk. Mostly about God. Sigh...
Now let be clear for all my readers out there, I will never touch the subject of God because everyone is entitled to their opinion and much as I'm entitled to mine and I see it pointless to discuss such taboo and sore subjects with opinionated people. However, just this once, I will bend the rule just a bit because as much as I hated having to be forced the conversation upon, one of the women, proved a theory of mine.
It all started as I stared at the window, my thoughts elsewhere, when the mere sentence, "I love to write I write everyday! I'm gonna write a book about my life."
Of course, inwardly I laughed and mentally said, "Yeah, well get in line sister."
But I sat there listening to the 41 year old woman go on about why she wanted to get here story out.
"For 29 years, I have been a crack and heroin addict. Today, I'm 37 days clean. Thank the Great Lord for this."
I frowned. This woman did not look like an addict. She looked like your everyday lunch lady with kids, and maybe grandkids, but certainly not an addict. And for me 37 days clean seemed simply a few days, not enough to boast about. The way she said it though, made it seem like she went a year without the use of drugs. She was beaming proudly.
The woman next to her was going on and on agreeing that the Lord was blah blah blah and blah blah blah and she also loved to write.
"But you know everything is going to be okay. The Great Lord is on your side." She ended her sermon.
The 41 year old woman nods her head. "Mmmm mmm mmm. Amen, gurl. The lord has cleared the mountains from my sidewalk, lowered the hills from my path, shielded me from temptation. And you know what, he brought me back my life. My son is allowing me to be in his life again and it's all Gods almighty work. Its gonna be okay be cause He reached out to me and took my hand. Everything I have is because of God. The Almighty God didn't turn me away when I was addicted. I don't want to die, but I have all this illnesses. My back hurts, my eye sight's leaving me, I have a virus (I don't know what she meant here), I have some serious health problems. But you know what, with God by my side I know I'll get through this. I say, Lord let thy will be done."
"Mmmhmm... You got that right, gurl. Amen. God is everywhere, and God is everything." The other woman put in. And the conversation continued but even now, my mind is on what she said.
God must be very powerful, if He can convert and ex-drug addict to a straight-edged-God-loving-writer-in-the-process woman. If he can help one person, why can't he do the same to others. Or do we have to be in pretty deep dog poo for him to finally butt in. That kinda seems unfair. Why her and not me, or someone else? Or everybody else.
She did mentioned that she searched for the "Great almighty Lord" and found him at at her at the end of her drug days. Maybe I have to be pumped full of crack for me to meet Him. Because no matter how much I search, he remains eerily silent, letting his minions of the church to all the talking for Him.
How I envy her. She knows her purpose in her life and she has found safety in the invisible hands of a being as real as Big foot. I envy her because she has God on her side and I have myself and my beliefs, and science, and my dog (do dogs believe in God?).
Hearing her story of success has made me think of my theories of the said Almighty God. Question him and his existence. She was a drowning woman saved by a single thought: God, she clung to it with hope and discovered a part of herself that lay dormant for many years. Good for her.
But what about us?
Great story. I think a lot of people feel that way. Why does God help one and not all? Considering African Americans were not protected by the law until the Civil Rights Act, and the non African Americans who assaulted and murdered them often got away with their crimes, it's no surprise that a majority of African Americans have turned to God and religion for support. Others probably turned away from God and religion because they asked themselves... why did God allow slavery?
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the story of the chicken and the egg....