The London Midway

This morning I awoke to yet another rainy London morning...hit snooze 4 times since I was so sore from my workout the day before...realized that I was out of cereal...this was only OK since I found the milk was past the expiry date...way past the date...and made my way to the bus stop while managing to only get moderately soaked. But for all this misery, I was rewarded...I managed to score my favorite seat on the bus!!

Now granted, only people that ride the bus on a daily basis can really understand the concept of the favorite seat...and even then, there are still those that can't truly appreciate the favorite seat. School buses don't have them - their seats are all the same. Greyhound buses don't have them since you all pay the same price and any seat that isn't by the bathroom is a good seat. Even most public transportation buses don't have them since they are, for the most part, a single story rectangle on wheels that was upholstered by someone that loved their valor leisure suit a bit too much.

So let me explain my favorite seat...first and foremost...you have to ride on the double-decker bus...no questions asked...trust me, the novelty never wears off. Secondly, you have to get the seats on the first row of the top level...even more importantly, you have to get the right side seat (hopefully no one sits next to you). How does this make it my favorite seat? Well, when you're on the top of the bus, a whole story above the milling masses that crowd the streets like like ants around picnic basket, its almost like the city is putting a show on for you...you just have to look to see the different acts.

This morning, though, I was struck by feeling of déjà vu. The point in time that I was taken back to was my days working at Cedar Point. Cedar Point, for those of you who might not know, is an amusement park located on Lake Erie in Ohio. Its the park where I worked (and lived) for 2 summers when I was a teenager.

How can you possibly compare London to an amusement park in Ohio you might ask...well let me tell just tell you...

Some mornings, before the park opened, when the dew was still on the ground and the pavement was still wet from being hosed down the night before, there would be these people just aimlessly wondering up and down the midway waiting for the rides and food stands to open. These people, mostly guests at the hotels in the park, would just be meandering around, alone in their little worlds and oblivious to the poor schleps...like myself...that were rushing around, getting ready for the day's work....preparing to make their day enjoyable.

This morning, as I sat in my favorite seat, I recognized that same dazed look among the tourists roaming Oxford St. I recognized the families with the matching bright yellow shirts...so no one gets lost!...and the kids happy to be on their own for a few minutes before they had to continue with the forced family fun. I recognized the others, like myself, just trying to get through the crowds in order to get to work. I saw the street vendors beginning to hawk their wares to the sleepy passersby.

I also saw...to my astonishment...that the reasons I loved those morning walks down the midway are the very same reasons that I love to watch this city from my favorite seat on the bus. Just like those sleepy mornings on the midway, I got the opportunity to peak at everyone one around me...their happy faces, their sad faces, snippets of their conversations, jokes and thoughts out loud. I get to see these things since to them, I am just the scenery in the play...an extra in their home movies. But to me...they are the free entertainment that gives me a chuckle, a smile, and a reminder that I am glad to be walking in my own shoes.