Port Authority...Greyhound...

I don't even know where to start, so I will start at the beginning. I am finally on my bus after all types of Hell. I utterly wanted to scream, and part of me thought I was about to. I think it was that little voice( you know the good angel vs. the bad one) telling me not to. I didn't want security rushing at me, then I would definitely miss my bus. My departure time was 8:30pm and I would arrive at my destination the next day at 12:45am.

Sadly to say 95% of the workers in the bright, neon, green, vest don't have any helpful information to give you about your trip. I asked five different men the same question about my departure gate and got five different answers. Strangely the man that ticketed my baggage had a computer screen up with all the information about my trip and still gave me the wrong departure gate. This was after the man in front of me checked in with over ten pieces of huge luggage. That took over 20 minutes, and if that wasn't enough he begin bargaining with the man because he didn't want to pay $10 a piece for the other seven bags! Now I need to tell you all that I have over seven years of customer service experience and my patience was running extremely thin. I could feel my eyes rolling, as my breathing begin to change to a huff and a puff. Every time the man put one piece of luggage down he was putting another on the scale. I thought I was going to yell "Come on. Are you serious!" Twenty minutes felt like forty.


After checking my luggage. I went to my boarding gate and stood there for 15 minuets. I stood there with several other people. We were all going to the same place and yet we were all at the wrong gate! Thank God I was taught that being on time is being late because I would have missed my bus for sure. Right before I completely snapped I saw a man walking in my direction. He had on the most hideous plaid print pants I had ever seen. I couldn't contain myself any longer. I just busted out laughing! Even now as I type this I cant help but to laugh. I wish I had a picture of those pants. A woman stared at me as I was laughing out loud. All I could think was "thank God for the comic relief!"

As we all changed lines to get to the right departure gate two young ladies with a baby, and there guy friend cut in front of me. "For real ? Really? I don't think so." I politely unhooked the rope and got right back in my spot with them a few feet behind me. Consequently, I now I have to go to the bathroom and I'm afraid to get out of line now because the bus is about to load. I find myself a seat and then go to the bathroom. Thank God for the small things. The bus bathroom was Clean, and I got a seat to my self what a break. What a coincident across from me were two ladies who ran their yaps for four hours straight, and they did NOT use their inside voices! They talked loudly to each other and on the phone. I now know one of the ladies plans for next weekend as well as what she wants to do with her life, and she wasn't even talking to me! Somebody tell me what in the Hell did I do to deserve this torture.

Three hours have passed and I have been lucky to have had the seat all to my self. In the last hour of the trip I hear a male voice ask if anyone is sitting here. I say no without paying him much attention. I move my bag under my feet and he sits down. He then pulls out his laptop and the bright blue light from the screen makes me stare at it. I apologize to him for watching his screen, but it's pitch black on the bus and my eyes are drawn to it. That's exactly what I told him. He says no problem and we talked nonstop for an hour. He shows me pictures of him self and his family. That's when I noticed I was sitting next to a handsome guy. As I looked at pictures of him in his Air force uniform and with out a shirt on.. my eyes grew bigger. We got so carried away in talking about family and the future that I forgot to call my mom and let her know how close I was to my destination. Before I knew it I had arrived in Dover Delaware. Believe it or not I didn't even get his name let alone his phone number!

I get off the bus in what looks like a parking lot. I call my mother and she told me to go directly across the street to the hospital where it is lit. I honestly didn't even know I was at a bus stop. All I could see was gravel. There were no signs and what looked like a shack was closed. So I did what my mother told me to do, and walked around to the emergency room. I stayed outside in front of the pick up drop off area. A old, hick, security guard came out and this is how the conversation went: The man told me that I couldn't go into the emergency room. I told him I wasn't trying to go inside. I was waiting on my mother to come get me. He then told me that the Hospital was private property. I told him that I didn't see any signs saying so. He asked me why didn't I stay at the bus station? I told him that I didn't know it was a bus station. (Besides it dark over there. No lights, no sign. I'm a woman at night with two suitcases) I told him that I was minding my own business not bothering anybody, so why is he bothering me? He then got on his walkie talkie and repeated everything I said to some guy on the other end. Then the man told me I would have to leave unless I was going in the Hospital to be seen. I told him I wasn't going anywhere. My mother has been a nurse as long as I've been alive and I know if your not disturbing the peace there is no reason why you cant wait for your ride to pick you up at the pickup drop off station by the emergency room! My ride would be here in ten minutes. A few minutes later a Caucasian women walked past us. He spoke to her, but you could tell they didn't know each other. That's when it hit me. I lost my home training and snapped!
"Oh, I get it now. It's because I'm Black? You got to be kidding Me? Are you serious ? I can't believe this. You are a very ignorant man! I'm not going anywhere"! That's what I told him.
Sadly that what the whole ordeal was about. My feelings were really hurt. Its a shame that prejudice is still so prominent today. After that he left me alone. My mom showed up about 10 minutes later with my sister behind the wheel practicing for her drivers test, which is entirely another story in it self.