Terrible Bus Driver Day Part 2

Last week while remembering Metro Driver Mark Mclaughlin who was killed in the line of duty 20 years ago, RantWoman promised reflections about a different terrible bus driver day in her life: the day Blind (college) Roommate died, Monday November 27, 1989, the year Gorbachev went to China, the year of the Tien an Mien massacre. RantWoman and Blind Roommate were both in graduate school at the time, RantWoman in IN and Blind Roommate in NJ. RantWoman and Blind Roommate had not talked since RantWoman returned midsummer from a study abroad trip.

 

From a blog post weaving several threads.

:Blind Roommate was killed a few years after college. She died for being 5 feet tall and crossing the street in front of a bus at dusk on a late fall evening. [This part is the terrible bus driver day part mentioned above, a point RantWoman has not even thought about until now. RantWoman notes the terrible bus driver day without rancor, only deep sorrow.] RantWoman lived a few states away and could not do much except go through her address book and phone and phone and get as many nearer people to the memorial as possible.

“RantWoman also called Blind Roommate's parents who generally liked RantWoman in spite of not walking near certain topics. The call delivered the desired level of emotional content though RantWoman was discomfited by Blind Roommate's mother observing that other people had suffered at the same intersection.

“RantWoman asked whether they planned any kind of investigation or lawsuit and they said no. RantWoman does not think nearly everything it is fashionable to sue about merits legal bluster but does believe legal levers are one way to bring added emphasis to public policy concerns such as badly designed infrastructure or inappropriate traffic behavior that might otherwise be overlooked. RantWoman does not necessarily blame shell-shocked loved ones for not wanting to keep reliving hurt during a legal process, but RantWoman reserves the right to wonder...”

 

Over time RantWoman has marked this awful date in different ways: a long phone call crying with another person important to Blind Roommate, meandering electronically through what the internet shows of events and places important to Blind roommate, a parade of musical moments off Youtube, a Facebook search that turned up blind roommate’s sister who helpfully listed her maiden name in her FB profile and a niece and namesake. This year, apparently RantWoman is to think about the person who drove the bus at the time of the accident.

 

RantWoman though does not want to linger long in what she imagines must be great pain. Instead RantWoman means to play some favorite music, to borrow some of Blind roommate’s zeal for standing up to the problems of the day and to mix in a bit of her sense of humor, all of which are sorely needed just now.