Unfortunately, I don’t have such a fun variety of characters on the bus. Most of the people riding the express are professionals who live in the ‘burbs and work downtown. So we largely look like each other, at least externally. But I have started making some friends, and that is nothing to complain about. And there are usually some interesting folks at the stop downtown, since that serves a lot of different routes. I don’t know if there is some deep philosophical meaning to this, but there are definitely de facto castes at the downtown stop. Even with people you don’t know, you can usually tell the Express Riders from the Grocery Store Riders. Maybe somebody working on a sociology thesis ought to look at this and what it means.

Sorry to hear about your husband’s job. I’ve been through a layoff before, and I can’t say I enjoyed it. But the Lord has always taken care of us. My prayers are with your family.