Years ago, my lady and I created our very own holiday. It happened after seeing the movie "I Tonya" and learning about the spirit of Tonya Harding. She is who she is. Feisty. Unapologetic. Unstoppable (albeit a bit questionable). A fighter with a winning spirit. So we took those qualities and made our own holiday that became a day for us to be unapologetic, indulgent, and hilarious. In years past, we picked an "enemy" to pour all of our negative energy into. Last year, that enemy was woodticks (some past honorable mentions belong to a jacket from work, geese, and who knows what else).
This year, we celebrated a little differently. It has been a difficult year emotionally for both of us. Motivation to celebrate anything has been challenging, and I am not even certain we celebrated Tonya Harding Day last year. The year before we had planned to take the DTA city bus, but covid happened and public outings were banned.
So this year on Feb 6th, Tonya Harding Day proper, we decided to finally take the bus downtown and just have an adventure. See what we see. Just let the day unfold as it shall and experience the day for what it is.
We were pleasantly surprised.
I didn't know what to expect on the bus, but figured that I would see some shady characters on the bus and perhaps feel a little uncomfortable not having been on local public transportation since high school, which is far too many years ago to even count.
Some differences I noticed was that there was a bin in the front of the bus designated for groceries so that people could place their grocery bags in a secure bin rather than on the dirty floor. Another was the difference in the request for the bus to stop. In years past, it was just an annoying "DING". Now, it was a very quiet ding followed by the robotic voice pronouncing "Stop requested".
The passengers were surprisingly thankful. Nearly every single person who departed the bus via the back door, thanked the bus driver at the front of the bus for the ride. It brought tears to my eyes to see the humanity, the gratitude, and the kindness. If the passenger did not say thank you, the bus driver saluted "have a nice day" as the passengers departed. Heartwarming! This happened on both the initial trip as well as the return trip which led me to assume this was a common occurrence on the bus. Local culture on public transportation.
Examples of the generosity of the human spirit were ever present. One guy boarded the bus unable to pay. The bus driver gave him a free ride. A rough looking young couple in the front of the bus gladly moved to the back to free up closer seats when cane using passengers boarded. A little dog toting lady in a wheelchair also boarded. The driver took a few minutes to help secure her safely in her spot only to have to patiently unbuckle her just two blocks later.
Yes, it was a lovely holiday. The actual bus ride was the highlight, but we also enjoyed a delicious lunch (with a gift card), and a stroll through part of our skyway system.
It did not escape us that we were using the bus voluntarily as a form of entertainment. Something different. New. Most, if not all, people on the bus were riding it because they had to. Though we had blast, we were very glad to not have to rely on public transportation on a daily basis. It took one hour.....each way....to travel what would take about 20 minutes in our vehicle. It was loud, dirty, cold, long, tiring. But what we will remember is the heartwarming experience.
Both of us enjoy being at home and venturing with strange people can be anxiety inducing. But once you leave the house, it isn't as scary as the imagination makes it out to be. In fact, people are good and goodness exists all around, especially if your eyes are open to it. Tonya Harding Day 2022 was an eye opening reminder of the goodness of people. This year, a symbol of hope and light and love.
Thanks, Tonya!
