My Adventure-filled Jeepney Rides....

I've always enjoyed riding the jeepney and every day I do there is always a different adventure waiting to happen or an interesting character to bump into. 

A keen observer most of the time (except on days when I sleep during the entire ride), I like to check out those around me, even those we just pass by on the streets. I guess all of us have different stories to tell of our routinary journeys via our ever-reliable public transportation and probably some might share my stories here.

Most of the time, if not all, there is always a person texting or talking on the phone. Nothing extraordinary about that though - the most interesting moments are those when someone’s phone rings while inside the jeepney and the person takes the call. I have overheard a few people say that they were already in Colon when we were still in Capitol. Yes, our cellphones have definitely made liars of all of us! (no offense meant) I am guilty of this too but only thru text, because I prefer to lie on paper where only my outbox can bear witness to unlike a jeepney filled with people. I wonder if this is a cultural thing though..hmm.

I prefer to sit on the farthest end so I can avoid being sandwiched by people bigger than me but other times I end up on exactly the opposite side, the one nearest the driver and that automatically makes you the “conductor” of the day. When in my best mood, I’d casually ask “kinsa pay muplete dha?” but when am not, I sulk but am obliged. If there were foreigners around, they need to be the “conductor” of the day, I am sure they’ll get a kick out of it. We are just all too used to this that we hate it most of the time. 😉😉😉

If luck isn’t on your side on a given day, you could stumble into those not so nice personalities - those that step on your toes and don’t even bother to say sorry or those who suddenly push you to the side so they can sit where you are seated and don’t even utter the words “excuse me” or those who ask you to pass their fare and don’t even have the courtesy to say please or thank you. If you’re like me though, you’d just comment in your mind but I might just say it out loud one of these days just to teach them a thing or two about courtesy.

The front seat or what we Cebuanos refer to as “pronsit” (believe it or not, I actually realized this by myself!) is one of the best seats available, you get a nice view of the streets of Cebu City and you don’t have to worry about too many people sitting beside you or sometimes on top of you (and I mean that literally). But there are awkward times too, like when the driver let three passengers ride. I could’ve forgiven him because my built always gets me mistaken for a kid but darn, this couple who shares my space is just too annoying. The wife was nagging about someone’s life story and the husband just sat there submissively. Argh! If someone gave me a “go” card to be rude for that day, I really would’ve told that woman to shut up and leave other people alone. But I wanted her husband to do that for her, too bad for me huh? For the entire duration of my ride, I was stuck and I didn’t have my mp3 player with me too!

The jeepney drivers like so much to linger around in certain areas to pick up more passengers and one of those areas is in front of Unitop in Osmeña Blvd. Every time the jeepney makes its stop over, I would always see this elderly man sit on a stool in front of the store named Jerry’s Umbrellas. I am convinced that this man IS Jerry, the umbrella owner; and if I ever get a chance to see him while not on the jeepney, I just might ask him. He might not talk to me for fear of getting kidnapped though but at least I tried to ask. 🤣

One time the jeepney passed by a group of athletes in their basketball uniform and what caught my eye was that one guy who had blue sneakers among the rest who had white. It might’ve been brand new too because he was showing if off to his fellow athletes. He had his leg raised and he pointed to his shoe. No longer seeing the group, I thought to myself, he might have been the star athlete that day because of his blue shoes - so good for him!

On occasions I love the most, I get to sit next to babies or toddlers – not alone ofcourse! One time I sat beside a father with his overly-active little daughter who liked to hold on to the monkey bars. I gave her my finger and in a few minutes I found myself frantically snatching it away from her because she was going to bite me! Hehehe. There is also this one time when I boarded the jeep, I saw in front of me these set of wide eyes belonging to a little boy. It has always been a default reaction from me to give kids a wide smile and this time I did too and he greeted me with an even wider one. That made my day for sure and all throughout my ride until I got off, this little boy would look at me and smile and then look away and then look at me and smile and then look away. All throughout my ride and I think even when I got off I still had a permanent smile etched on my face.

Other than the assortment of personalities on every ride, I like checking out the bustling life outside – the vendors peeling fruits for sale, the students scampering to get to school, the sweet couple holding hands while waiting for a ride, and even the street dog wagging its tail while under the scorching sun. These things never fail to amaze me. If I ever do get my own ride one day, I am sure I'll still catch a jeepney ride every now and then, just for the fun of it. Who knows what adventure is waiting to happen or who that next interesting person might be…

11/19/2010 @ 01:35am