One of the joys of living on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel is the wide variety of transportation available for your commuting pleasure. Specifically, there are two types of buses. The most reliable and safe bus is the NJ Transit bus. This bus travels to the Port Authority, uses the designated bus lanes, and has at least some level of training required to be a driver. I usually like this option, but it is often crowded by the time it reaches my stop, and I'm forced to stand in the aisle for the 40 minute ride. The other buses, which vary in disrepair, cleanliness, and driver competence is a bit of a gamble. However, they arrive more often at the bus stop, and charge 55 cents less than the transit buses. A couple days ago, I was in a hurry, and decided to roll the dice.
As I stepped on the bus, I noticed the many empty seats and breathed a sigh of relief. Seconds later, the relief was gone when I heard a large black gentleman in the back cry out, "Look at this white boy!" Fortunately, it was much more amusing than it was intimidating, and I took a seat a couple rows in front of my new friend. Speaking to an obviously uncomfortable Hispanic man in the row behind me, he cried out, "that other white boy couldn't handle it, and he go off at the last stop." Then after asking my favorite baseball team, and informing me that he could tell I wasn't racist, he asked me if I could pass the test. After asking the nature of the test, he said, "you know Jesus wasn't white, right?" To this I replied, "Jesus Christ?" He laughed and answered in the affirmative. "No," I said, "Jesus wasn't white." "BOOM!" he yelled. "See that, the white boy admitted it! Jesus was a black man!" Unable to help myself, I said, "I didn't say he was black...actually Jesus was Palestinian." After a short debate about the difference between being brown and black (same thing, he argued), he asked me my name. "Steve" I responded. He shook my hand and introduced himself, "Mohammed." Then, he sat back and didn't say a word for the rest of the ride. When we reached the Port Authority, he stood up and said, "I love you Steve. Have a great day." And he got off the bus and went on his way.
Interactions like this amaze me. I can imagine the other "white boy" wasn't as good of a sport, and may have been intimidated. I wonder if Mohammed went on with his day without thinking another thought about me. I sure thought about him a lot that day, but I doubt I had the same impact on him as he had on me. I still smile thinking about it.
People come and go in our lives. Some people stay for a short time, and some stay for a very long time. You never can tell the impact they will have on you until they are gone. Inversely, you never know the impact you have on others. I've been thinking a lot about the people in my life, especially Lily. She was supposed to be with me for the rest of my life. She was supposed to make my life worth living. But, despite all of the "supposed to's", she left me after too short a time. But that short time has had a profound impact on my life. I love the people in my life more than I ever thought possible. I also hurt deeper than I ever have in my life. Her presence is always with me, and I find myself asking what she would want me to do when I make almost every decision I'm faced with. All of this after only a few days. If you ever wonder how much a parent loves his or her child, think of this. How many people have you met where, within seconds of meeting them, they make you want to be the best person you can be because you want them to be proud of you? How many people can instantly inspire you to be a good, loving person? How many people can enter your life, only to leave you within a few days, and leave part of your heart broken forever because she left? That is the impact my days with Lily has had on me.
I've heard a man I just met tell me he loved me. Sometimes I wish I could hear my daughter say, just once, "I love you, daddy." I love you too, sweetheart.
As I stepped on the bus, I noticed the many empty seats and breathed a sigh of relief. Seconds later, the relief was gone when I heard a large black gentleman in the back cry out, "Look at this white boy!" Fortunately, it was much more amusing than it was intimidating, and I took a seat a couple rows in front of my new friend. Speaking to an obviously uncomfortable Hispanic man in the row behind me, he cried out, "that other white boy couldn't handle it, and he go off at the last stop." Then after asking my favorite baseball team, and informing me that he could tell I wasn't racist, he asked me if I could pass the test. After asking the nature of the test, he said, "you know Jesus wasn't white, right?" To this I replied, "Jesus Christ?" He laughed and answered in the affirmative. "No," I said, "Jesus wasn't white." "BOOM!" he yelled. "See that, the white boy admitted it! Jesus was a black man!" Unable to help myself, I said, "I didn't say he was black...actually Jesus was Palestinian." After a short debate about the difference between being brown and black (same thing, he argued), he asked me my name. "Steve" I responded. He shook my hand and introduced himself, "Mohammed." Then, he sat back and didn't say a word for the rest of the ride. When we reached the Port Authority, he stood up and said, "I love you Steve. Have a great day." And he got off the bus and went on his way.
Interactions like this amaze me. I can imagine the other "white boy" wasn't as good of a sport, and may have been intimidated. I wonder if Mohammed went on with his day without thinking another thought about me. I sure thought about him a lot that day, but I doubt I had the same impact on him as he had on me. I still smile thinking about it.
People come and go in our lives. Some people stay for a short time, and some stay for a very long time. You never can tell the impact they will have on you until they are gone. Inversely, you never know the impact you have on others. I've been thinking a lot about the people in my life, especially Lily. She was supposed to be with me for the rest of my life. She was supposed to make my life worth living. But, despite all of the "supposed to's", she left me after too short a time. But that short time has had a profound impact on my life. I love the people in my life more than I ever thought possible. I also hurt deeper than I ever have in my life. Her presence is always with me, and I find myself asking what she would want me to do when I make almost every decision I'm faced with. All of this after only a few days. If you ever wonder how much a parent loves his or her child, think of this. How many people have you met where, within seconds of meeting them, they make you want to be the best person you can be because you want them to be proud of you? How many people can instantly inspire you to be a good, loving person? How many people can enter your life, only to leave you within a few days, and leave part of your heart broken forever because she left? That is the impact my days with Lily has had on me.
I've heard a man I just met tell me he loved me. Sometimes I wish I could hear my daughter say, just once, "I love you, daddy." I love you too, sweetheart.
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