8/9/2014

[Written at Greyhound station, Phoenix, AZ]

8/9/2014:                   |  S: 0255

Q: So what is going on right now?

A: Right now I’m at the Greyhound bus station at Phoneix, AZ.  We are changing buses so our bus train is waiting.

Q: How are you feeling right now?

A: I feel OK.  I’m tired and the intermittent sleep onboard the bus is helping little.  Right now, I do have a lot of thoughts.

Q: What thoughts are you having?

A: It’s too many for me to write briefly but I’m having thoughts about my future, destiny, about God, what I’m going to do once I get to Los Angeles, and the application of social work with the people I’m with.

Q: Hmm, application of social work with fellow passengers.  Sounds interesting.  Could you elaborate?

A: Most of the passengers I’m with seem to come from the lower socioeconomic classes.  By being with them, sitting close to them, I get to see and experience what they are feeling and going through.  Furthermore, God, or chance, gave me the opportunity to help some people.

Q: How did you help them?

A: I talk to them.  I introduce myself.  I am nice and kind to them.  That doesn’t sound like much, but any message we put out is like an aura that can change the world, or the environment.  I did help a woman on a deeper level though.  It’s quite a story. 

Q: I love stories!  Tell me the story.

A: Well, at the Tucson, AZ station a young woman came in.  She looked kind of distraught.  When moving her carry-on on the bus, she carried one bag and sort of shuffled her other bag on the ground.  This is before we departed.  She asked the bus driver for help multiple times.  She moved and sat at the very end of the bus partly because there are few seats left and she was one of the last ones there.  At the back of the bus, the rearmost seat, she asked for the driver for help again.  She told her she doesn’t want to sit at the back because she doesn’t feel safe.  I was sitting at the front of the bus then.  The bus driver asked are there anyone willing to volunteer their seat for her.  After a brief silence, when I felt no one is going to volunteer, I decided to volunteer.  Oh, I almost forgot.  As the woman was moving her carry-on in the bus past me, she dropped something.  I picked it up and saw that it was a reboarding pass.  I tried calling out to her but she didn’t hear me.  It’s probably partically b/c I have a soft voice.   [end of written]

[typed] 8/20/2014

I walked up to her and handed her the ticket.  She looked at the ticket and told shook her head quickly and told me it’s for the bus driver.  I handed the pass to her and tried to explain briefly.  The way she looked, her demeanor, suggests to me that she could be somehow oppressed.  I’m guessing, and it’s pure speculation here, that she probably got out of a domestic violence situation.  I’m glad I can help her.  :)  I tried to talk to her when we were standing in line waiting for the bus.  She looked as if she’s still confused.  I can feel she was thinking about talking to me but then decided to talk to the Greyhound staff.  After some talking and references of other staff, she got to board first.  Heh.  It’s fine, she probably deserves it. 

I look for opportunities to lend a helping hand.  They don’t come my way often, probably because I don’t really go out of my way to look for them, but if they do, I try to help.