Node Project

After looking up the route 7 schedule on the Greensboro Transportation Authority website I decided that I wanted to catch the 4:28 bus at the corner of Frances King and Friendly Ave since is was closest to my apartment. As I quietly waited near the route 7 bus sign I was joined by another woman who appeared to have finished work for the day. She was older and dressed in a Chick-Fil-A uniform, she gave me a warm smile and proceeded to wait at the corner of the road. In the distance I suddenly heard the roar of the bus approaching. At first sight, I noticed that both the bus and the bus sign I was standing near had coordinating colors and logos. As it came to a screeching halt I quickly looked at the front of the bus and saw the number 7 and the words "Friendly Ave" so I knew this was the bus that I needed to catch. 

As I took my seat in the middle of the bus I carefully gauged my surroundings. The bus was well-worn with use, it had faux wood paneling with advertisements in both English and Spanish. The rows of green plastic molded seats were fairly comfortable. On both sides of the bus there were large windows that allowed the afternoon sun to light the entire space. Most of the bus was empty except for five or so passengers that were scattered amongst the multiple rows of seats. 

 

While keeping to myself I noticed that in the back of the bus there were two middle-aged women who appeared to be nurses. Directly in front of me there was a young female student reading a book, and at the very front, near the driver, there was a man who was either a server or a cook. Some passengers chose to interact with others while some chose to maintain their bubbles of isolation through the use of head phones or newspapers.

                                       

As bus  7 teetered down Friendly Avenue, I was startled when the bus driver managed a rapid double lane change. I also found it a little unnerving when cars would zoom around us, regardless of the menacing size of the bus. After about ten minutes of holding on tightly and a couple of stops later we arrived at the bus depot in downtown Greensboro. There were many people waiting at these terminals called slips. The depot was quite big with large overhangs that provided much needed shade that afternoon. 

                                         

On the way home I decided that I wanted to stop by Woolworth's since I was already downtown. Driving down Elm Street, Woolworth's red and gold sign prominently stood out from the other buildings. In the windows there were various enlarged black and white photos displaying different times of the Civil Rights movement, including the sit-ins. It appeared to me that it was supposed to be turned into a museum because there were proposed plans displayed in some of the windows, but I couldn't help but feel sad because it seemed abandoned and empty. 

I started this project by reading the excerpt from Civilities and Civil Rights by William H Chafe. I thought this would be the best approach because I wanted to be able to relate the reading to the bus ride while I was on my journey, not afterwards. The reading did influence my perception of the trip, I probably wouldn't have paid close attention to the interactions of the people or the diversity that was on the bus. I noticed a small sign at the front of the bus that was dedicated to Rosa Parks that I would have probably missed because it was so small. Both of these observations were a result of reading the excerpt beforehand. I felt stopping at Woolworth's was an important place to end my journey because of its strong sense of history and because of it's role in Chafe's book. The sit-ins that happened at Woolworth's in 1960 influenced the equality that I witnessed on the bus trip. I saw two women of different ethnic backgrounds and social classes converse with eachother as equals. I got the impression that a lot of the riders were familiar with one another, they seemed very friendly towards each other. They looked at each other as equals rather than an ethnicity, a gender, or a social class. Without the Civil Rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's my bus trip would have been drastically different. People would have been segegrated and there would have been some obvious tension on the bus. Woolworth's most likely would be gone, with some other business occupying the historic landmark. I learned a lot from the reading and the riding, I think today we don't notice the dynamics of our culture anymore. Being reminded that only forty or so years ago, people were discriminated against because of who they were made me appreciate where we are today. No longer do we look at each other with hatred for our  differences,  but with respect because we realize that the diversity of people is what makes America beautiful.