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Anything Goes
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Straight Male / 26
I know this isn't the type of story most of you are used to here. But I wanted to share this experience.
I ride the city bus every single day.
On Wednesday, May 29th I was sitting on the number 22 on my way across Fresno and listening to the music playing over the speakers. It was the crap that passed for pop nowadays and I hated it, but there was nothing else to listen to. I'd forgotten my mp3 player back at home.
It was warm and about noon. There wasn't anything really unusual about the ride, until we crossed Tulare Ave and Chestnut Ave at which point I felt a brief sensation of disorientation and slight nausea, almost a sense of free fall. But it was over so quickly, I assumed maybe the bus just rode over a dip in the road. But I also noticed the little electronic ticker at the front of the bus that provided the date and time and the cross streets had changed. Instead of Saying Wednesday May 29 2013, it now scrolled Monday Oct 18 1993. And the music on the radio had abruptly changed from Mumford & Sons to Janet Jackson. I shrugged. Obviously the ticker was glitchy and the driver had gotten tired of the radio station and changed it. I was glad. But then I started noticing other things. Mostly the people outside the bus. They looked off somehow. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Not until the bus stopped for a red light across the street from Roosevelt High School.
The students were all hanging out during lunch time. Hundreds of them. I saw a few Grunge rejects in striped long sleeve sweaters and beanies, but a bunch more dressed in loud day glow colored striped shirts, some in an odd sort of overalls that ended in shorts. Quite a few wore sideways tilted caps. Kind of like Will Smith on Fresh Prince of Bel Air. There wasn't a single saggy pantsed hip hop wanna be gangsta in the crowd. Which was odd because Roosevelt was nothing but ghetto nowadays.
An old woman across from me pulled the cord to alert the driver she wanted off the bus, and as we crossed the intersection we pulled over and let her out before continuing on. I felt like mentioning in passing to the guy in front of me how the kids had been dressed at school, maybe it was a back to the 90's day. Then I realized... 90's.
The wrong date on the scroller, the music on the radio (Janet had given way to Ace Of Base, the kids clothes and hair styles... hell, now that I thought of it, even the cars outside looked wrong. Then I felt that tiny wave of nausea and disorientation again as we crossed Tulare and 1st, and Ace Of Base were gone. Bruno Mars was wailing away, the ticker flashed Wednesday May 29 2013 and gave the time and upcoming crossroad.
I let it go and laughed at myself. Who the fuck would take me seriously?? I didn't even want to take it seriously and so I didn't. I went to my job, worked and went back home.
I thought it was behind me, except three days later on the local news I saw the old woman from the bus again. She'd gone missing and her family were looking for her. She hadn't come home from what was supposed to be a quick bus ride to the bank and back on the 29th. Had anyone seen her??
That was eleven days ago. She's still missing. And now I'm wondering, what might have happened if I stepped off the bus when it was still scrolling Monday Oct 18 1993??
I ride the city bus every single day.
On Wednesday, May 29th I was sitting on the number 22 on my way across Fresno and listening to the music playing over the speakers. It was the crap that passed for pop nowadays and I hated it, but there was nothing else to listen to. I'd forgotten my mp3 player back at home.
It was warm and about noon. There wasn't anything really unusual about the ride, until we crossed Tulare Ave and Chestnut Ave at which point I felt a brief sensation of disorientation and slight nausea, almost a sense of free fall. But it was over so quickly, I assumed maybe the bus just rode over a dip in the road. But I also noticed the little electronic ticker at the front of the bus that provided the date and time and the cross streets had changed. Instead of Saying Wednesday May 29 2013, it now scrolled Monday Oct 18 1993. And the music on the radio had abruptly changed from Mumford & Sons to Janet Jackson. I shrugged. Obviously the ticker was glitchy and the driver had gotten tired of the radio station and changed it. I was glad. But then I started noticing other things. Mostly the people outside the bus. They looked off somehow. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Not until the bus stopped for a red light across the street from Roosevelt High School.
The students were all hanging out during lunch time. Hundreds of them. I saw a few Grunge rejects in striped long sleeve sweaters and beanies, but a bunch more dressed in loud day glow colored striped shirts, some in an odd sort of overalls that ended in shorts. Quite a few wore sideways tilted caps. Kind of like Will Smith on Fresh Prince of Bel Air. There wasn't a single saggy pantsed hip hop wanna be gangsta in the crowd. Which was odd because Roosevelt was nothing but ghetto nowadays.
An old woman across from me pulled the cord to alert the driver she wanted off the bus, and as we crossed the intersection we pulled over and let her out before continuing on. I felt like mentioning in passing to the guy in front of me how the kids had been dressed at school, maybe it was a back to the 90's day. Then I realized... 90's.
The wrong date on the scroller, the music on the radio (Janet had given way to Ace Of Base, the kids clothes and hair styles... hell, now that I thought of it, even the cars outside looked wrong. Then I felt that tiny wave of nausea and disorientation again as we crossed Tulare and 1st, and Ace Of Base were gone. Bruno Mars was wailing away, the ticker flashed Wednesday May 29 2013 and gave the time and upcoming crossroad.
I let it go and laughed at myself. Who the fuck would take me seriously?? I didn't even want to take it seriously and so I didn't. I went to my job, worked and went back home.
I thought it was behind me, except three days later on the local news I saw the old woman from the bus again. She'd gone missing and her family were looking for her. She hadn't come home from what was supposed to be a quick bus ride to the bank and back on the 29th. Had anyone seen her??
That was eleven days ago. She's still missing. And now I'm wondering, what might have happened if I stepped off the bus when it was still scrolling Monday Oct 18 1993??
