Writer on the Run XV

I was motion sick from the two hour bus ride into Port Authority and could feel myself sweating in the cool weather. I only had one more short bus ride through the Lincoln Tunnel and I would be snuggling with Cleo in under thirty minutes...assuming the tunnel isn't a nightmare.

I felt disoriented when I got inside and almost forgot where the bus was located...luckily a nice homeless man pointed me in the right direction. I have found the homeless population in Port Authority and Grand Central Station are the most helpful with directions and almost always only ask for a dime or a quarter. I think it's brilliant that they have made themselves walking maps around the area and can tell you which train or subway to get to where you want to go, where to line up for buses to the airport and who has the cheapest coffee...even the people working in and around the stations have stated that they are super helpful and necessary. Maybe they got tired of hearing people telling them to 'get a job' and developed their own as a way to make a living. They are kind and wonderful people who just want to be helpful and appreciate a donation but have never become aggressive with myself or my son at all. Now I let them pull my luggage around the stations and to the busses for lunch and if I'm not in a hurry I like to sit with them...I only buy food from places that would allow them to eat in their establishment even if I was not sitting with them.

It felt good to be back in the city...I took a deep breath in and walked to the back of the building and down the stairs to my bus...