Riding the bus

I rode the bus to and from school last night for the first time in a couple months. It reminded me of just how terrible it was to not have a car and realize again how hard the last couple years have been for us. Nancy and I genuinely think the Lord put "blinders" over our eyes to help us survive and de-sensitize us to how crappy that was.

We have always been grateful for the Lord providing opportunities for us with the different forms of transportation necessary to do all we needed to do. They haven't always been the easiest or nicest, but it did the job to get us the places we needed to be. Most importantly, school! Our main form of transportation after our car, Lexie, had the head gasket go out, was the UTA trax and bus. We could usually make it to the bus stop in Lexie, but no further. Or we borrowed Grandma and Grandpa Richards huge, old, trusty Suburban (we named it Gene cuz it reminded us of him) to get to the bus stop (It cost $100 to fill up.. this is why it only took us to the bus stop)

You know you are are riding the bus or trax in Utah if...

1-You park and have to SPRINT to the bus stop to make sure it doesn't leave without you or else you have to wait an hour for the next one and you're late to class

2-You wait outside in the cold until your toes, fingers, and nose are numb and never know if it really is even going to come

3-You see 20 open seats on the bus and settle down in a good spot, then a huge, smelly person comes and chooses to sit RIGHT NEXT TO YOU

4-The bus doesn't need any music because you can hear three different choices of songs at once coming out of headphones full blast (usually vulgar) so everyone else can conveniently listen too!

5-Your lungs burn from the fumes, yes, I said FUMES of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and probably paint thinner. Oh, and B.O. and periodontal disease. And poop.

6-At the end of the ride, you can tell your spouse Tino's entire life story because he was talking on his cell phone loudly the ENTIRE 45 minute drive... if only you knew Spanish.

7-It takes you 30 minutes to read what normally should take just 15 because the ride is so bumpy and makes you sick by the end

8-You have to carry your pepper spray in hand the entire time until you make it home because of the creepy old guys that don't stop staring at you (From Nancy)

9-You see a larger woman pull out a 2 Liter of 7-Up from her purse and chug it down to the last drop. Yes, a 2 Liter. We have pictures as proof.

Needless to say, we LOVE having our new car. It is good to have these little moments to remind us to appreciate the blessings we have. And having a car IS A BLESSING, not a right!!

We'll post pictures of Zip (our new, perfect-for-us-at-this-time-in-our-lives car) soon.

-Jonathon and Nancy

Typical "Trax Person" (this is what we call them, or TP for short)