Few things in life actually happen the way we envision them to happen. The restaurant at the Golden Husky was closed, the night time manager of the gas station/convenience store was not particularly friendly (to be fair I must have look like a mad man with my hair and beard all over the place and I was trying to nap in the vestibule) and there was a nasty wind that went right through the parts of my clothing that were still damp. I was quite convinced that I would get a ride out in the morning but that was a four hour wait and it was shaping up to be a miserable wait.
Then sometime around 3:00AM, the Greyhound bus from
Vancouver to Calgary pulled in for a brief stop. I realized that while a bus
seat would not be as comfortable as a motel bed, it would be warm, dry and
probably cheaper. It would have the added advantage of getting me to Calgary by
7:00 AM. It seemed to be a logical - perhaps a brilliant thought. Getting on the bus and driving through what
remained of the night to Calgary - would
save money, time and allow me to get at least some sleep. I walked up the driver, asked if there was
room, and upon hearing that there was, I gave him my driver's licence as some form
of insurance or a promise to buy a ticket in Calgary. I of course, had to wait
until all of the other passengers had gotten back on so that I did not take
someone's seat. I assumed that I would end up sitting beside someone who was
less than excited about having a seat mate at 4:00 in the morning. I was pleasantly
surprised that there was a whole seat available. Within a few minutes of the
bus leaving I was sound asleep. Sleeping on a bus is not great. Unlike the
train, the seats are too small to curl up on, the backs do not go back far
enough (and besides doing so crushes the legs of the person behind you) and
there is nowhere to rest one's head. On the other hand - it was a lot better
than sleeping in the vestibule of a gas station.
The bus got to the Calgary bus station on time, I went into
the station to buy my ticket, went out to the bus and gave it to the bus
driver. As I picked up my pack, I mentioned, just in passing, to a supervisor
how professional and how polite the bus driver had been to me. She was
surprised - I suppose they do not get many nice comments. Which is a shame.
Most of them to a pretty good job. I saw her talk to the bus driver and then he
came over and thanked me for my comments. While I did not expect him to say
anything to me - it was a rather pleasant feeling to realize that I, because of
a thank you, had become part of this circle of politeness. I had helped the bus
driver feel good about his job, and in return he had rewarded and reinforced my
behaviour. We should all do that more often.
I was pretty excited - I was right beside a C-train station.
I knew that without too much hassle I would be on a city bus heading to the
east part of town. I took a few minutes to brush my teeth, my beard and my
hair. I think I looked my usual, if not presentable, at least interesting self.
It took me a few minutes to figure out which direction I
needed to go on the train. I always have a hard time reading the diagrams/maps
that are posted on the train station wall. There are just too many choices and
I do not know the names of the streets etc. I have used the Calgary transit
system a number of times and in general I think I understand it. This time I
managed to get going the right way, to get off at the right stop and to walk to
the right bus stop, almost. A driver told me that I needed to get on the north
bus rather than the south bus. I thanked him and as I was walking away. he
called out to me and suggested that I get back on the C-train, go back one stop
and get a different bus than I usual do - one that would get me even closer to
the Trans-Canada. That sounded like a plan. The only problem was that I would
need to climb the stairs back up the train platform...... again, as on so many
times on this journey, I was thankful that I had lightened my pack.
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