Bus Driver On Roller Skates

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Old pic from my photo archives.

The sun was shining so people took their bikes for a walk, on the pavement. Cyclists are an effective lobby in this town because City Hall has an on-going project of carving bike lanes from existing roads. Despite all the pampering, some cyclists harass pedestrians on their home turf, the pavement.

I saw roller skates on a bicycle lane yesterday and guess who was swishing away? An off-duty bus driver. How do you know he is a bus driver? The blue shirt with City Hall’s logo on it. I was surprised because of the bus driver stereotype in my head. Oops! I’m sorry. I do. That one was younger and had a lighter body mass. I know it’s terrible to put people in boxes and I should know better because it happens to me sometimes. Some people don’t expect to understand me when I speak, because I look like this. They come closer and say “Excuse me.” They take one look at me and conclude that English will be a problem.

That is why I must apologize to the bus driver on roller skates. Common sense quickly squashed the stereotype and I thought about the freedom. Bus drivers drive these big things with 20 passengers or more. Turning left or right is a problem especially during this atrocious season called ‘construction season.’ That is what summer is called around here because of City Hall’s propensity to reduce roads to one lane for annual maintenance work.

Why roller skates? The bus driver on roller skates might love his job, but envies what he sees on the road: people riding bicycles, roller skating, testing e-bikes and zooming by on traditional Harley motor bikes. He did something about it, put on his roller skates and swished on the bike lanes. He was so fast, by the time I my phone out, he was gone.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders

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