These Little Bits

Articles

Holly Winter
Living The Life Of Holly

These Little Bits
June 8, 2003

“Where dis train goin next?” He asked.

“Hollywood, Florida.” Someone answered.

The boy wasn’t getting it. I figured he was in about ninth grade or so. “Where it goin after dat?” He stood in the doorway. A high pitched beeping sound filled the car. The train couldn’t start if the door was held open. The boy didn’t budge.

“Where we now?” He asked.

Someone told him.

“Where we goin next?” He seemed confused. So were his clothes. I have seen the best of slouched pants. These weren’t slouched for a fashion statement. This kid had lost some weight. He shifted his large plastic bag suitcase from one shoulder to the other. The bag was ripped and frayed. It looked like he had been carrying it for quite some time.

The guard walked up quickly. “Boy. “Where you wanna go?”

He reached up and scratched his matted afro. “Where dis train goin next?”

The guard asked him a little louder this time. “Boy. Where you tryin to go?”

The boy scratched his fro again, comically. He was trying to get a laugh from his audience. Nope. It didn’t work. Not a giggle.

The guard was getting angry. “Why you standin there holdin up the train?”

The boy shrugged. “Where dis train going?

The guard pulled him onto the train. “You are goin to Hollywood, Florida with the train.” The train started moving.

The boy looked confused. “Dat near Ft. Lauderdale?”

“Boy. You been askin the wrong question all dis time, haven’t you?”

The boy shifted his bag.

“You got a ticket?”

The boy made an attempt at charm by pulling out a fake dollar bill.

“You think I’m dumb, boy?” He asked, patiently.

The boy looked around, hoping for audience participation.

I know. If he were in a classroom right now, he would be getting lots of positive feedback. Kids would be rolling around in the aisles. They would be cheering him on. Encouraging him for being so incredibly funny for offering the guard a FAKE dollar bill.

But. In the real world, the fake dollar brought on anger.

“Boy. You watch it, or I’ll call the police at the next station. You are getting off at the next station.”

The boy raised one eyebrow and tried to hand him the fake dollar again.

I know. Kind of makes me miss the teaching world. A world where kids defy authority by frustrating them. This guard was lucky. He could throw the boy off the train. Pity the teacher who was trying to teach the boy to bring a pencil to class. That might not be so easy.

I was on my way to the Miami International Airport to meet Darlin-man. We would be flying from there to the Cayman Islands. When I told him that I could get to Miami for free, I hadn’t let on what an adventure it would be to get there. I love adventures.

I had parked early that morning at a park and ride and taken a bus to the airport in Denver. The joy of being a flight attendant is that I can jump seat, or fly for free, if and when there is a seat available on a plane from my company. Yeah. So. Getting a seat on the first flight was incredibly lucky. When I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, I found my way to the Tri-Rail train station.

I was hungry. There was a restaurant that wasn’t too far away. The problem was there were major intersecting highways between the station and the restaurant. I walked over to the guard.

“You think I can make it to that restaurant?”

“Woman.” He said. “If I could have a dollar for ever person who askes me that question every day, I could retire NEXT WEEK.”

“Does that mean no?” I asked, surveying the candy machine. Lots of wheat in there. Oh. My allergies would love a wheat feeding frenzy.

“Sorry. That means no.”

“They need food here.” I whined.

I called Darlin-man.

“I’m going to be hungry. There isn’t any food here. Who would have thought that there wouldn’t be any food at a train station?” I tore open a protein bar. “Oh. Sure. There’s a restaurant four highways away. I can see the sign. It says ‘All you can eat prime rib: ten dollars.’ I think that it’s pretty mean to have a place like that so close to the train station, yet so far away. I’m going to be hungry. See you in Miami.”

But. See. Starving at the train station wasn’t to be the only drama. There was that boy on the train who didn’t have a ticket. He did get escorted off the train at the next stop. Then he quietly snuck back on the other end of my car and stood in the doorway before the train was to start moving again.

“Where dis train going?” He asked his new audience.

Someone answered him.

“Where it goin after dat?” He asked.

Someone told him.

He stood in the doorway. A high pitched beeping sound filled the car. The train couldn’t start if the door was held open. The boy didn’t budge.

“BOY WHAT YOU DOIN?” The guard bellowed.

“Just wanna say goodbye.” He announced, with classic bad-boy charm. He jumped off the train, the door closed, and the train started moving.

The boy stood on the platform waving and blowing kisses to the guard.

“Bye. Thanks for da ride. Next time you should take dat dollar! It looked real! Might get you a candy bar! Bye!” The boy gave a deep, final bow as we chugged down the track.

Yeah. I know. We all got a good giggle out of it, even the guard started chuckling.

So what if traveling this way means that I have to lift my suitcase up and down about fifty times as I make my way on and off the various forms of transportation. Man. I wouldn’t miss this part for anything.

Cause. It’s these little bits that make the trip whole.

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About the author: Holly Winter is a teacher and a writer and a flight attendant living in Denver, Colorado, USA. She can be reached at her website or email: Holly@livingthelifeofholly.com

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