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October 06, 2006
Tortoise and the hare
I've taken to riding the bus to school lately. I don't why I do it, because it is never on time, it's always crowded, and it seems like it takes 30 minutes to go the 2 miles to school. As I was sitting on the bus the other day, an idea popped into my head: I bet I could run faster than that stupid bus moves. Today I attempted the feat: I would race a CTA bus from the Clark & Fullerton intersection down to North Avenue, a distance of 1.1 miles. I left my house and shimmied down to the intersection, and waiting at the intersection was the #36 Broadway bus, with an old lady trying to board. I bolted down Clark Street, knowing I had to take every advantage I could out of the bus's frequent stops to pick up riders.
I hoofed it down Clark, past the Tower Records at Belden. I dodged around pedestrians. I looked back, and the bus was nowhere in sight. I kept running. As I got to Webster, about 1/4 of the way to North, I could hear the bus rumbling up beside me, and I cursed as I saw the bus pass me. But my sorrow soon turned to jubilation, as construction on Clark created a bottleneck. The bus was stuck in a line of about fifteen cars, and there were passengers waiting at the stop who would not step into traffic to board.
I passed the bus again, and blew across Webster even though I had the red light. I was starting to tire now, but I used every ounce of my energy to keep going. I soon got to Armitage, halfway between Fullerton and North. I heard that rumble again, but this time it was a truck. I still did not see the bus - it was obviously still caught in traffic.
South of Armitage, Clark expands into two lanes each way. This is when I thought the bus would overtake me, because there were no more road construction traffic jams. I strained to keep running, but I still did not see the bus behind me. Next I came upon LaSalle Drive, with North Avenue only a long block away. I dodged through the first lane of traffic on LaSalle and stood on the median. Then, when a gap opened up in the other direction, I crossed the other lane and was now on the last block of my journey. I could finally see the #36 bus looming up behind me.
I ran even faster. As I approached North Ave, a great sense of accomplishment washed over me. I looked back, and the bus still had not gotten across LaSalle Dr. I stopped, grabbed the streetlight pole at the intersection of North & Clark, and watched as the bus rolled up a full 30 seconds after I had arrived. Yes, a mere mortal had bested the great CTA monolith. I ain't no John Henry, but it was still an accomplishment. I also will have to rethink my transportation choices.
Posted by oz115 at October 6, 2006 01:01 PM
Comments
Nice work! Your Rocky-like story of perserverence and determination has inspired me. I'm gonna go start racing the elevators.
Posted by: g at October 6, 2006 03:32 PM