Growing up, I lived in the country, near a small town, Cherryvale, in southeast Kansas. I spent a lot of time in town, because my grandma lived there. My mom taught fourth grade in the same classroom for many years. Between Church, 4H and school, we knew most people in town.
Yes, I was simultaneously a Happy Hustler 4-Her and a Fighting Cherry. That was our school mascot. (Yes it’s true… Now stop laughing….Ok, Ok..I did used to tell people that it was an all girls school.)
Cherryvale was small, and basically you could walk everywhere. There was no Transit service of any kind. Because of several things I never learned to drive.
Fast forward a few years. I had married someone and moved to Dodge City and then to Wichita. That marriage was not a good fit. We divorced remaining friends. In fact, he started dating and later married my best friend.( I babysit for her three kids while they dated. I know it’s weird.)
In Wichita, there was a good transit system. I took the bus downtown to work and back. I found a good group of people riding the same route and we had a pretty good time.
Downtown was the lineup.. Where all the buses line up for transfers. This was before two-way radios. Standing in the middle of the street, every morning at rush hour, was this gorgeous hunk of a man. OH STOP MY FLUTTERING HEART!! When all of the passengers had made their transfers, the hunk would waive his newspaper and that was the signal to go.
I was about 22, had good legs and wore a lot of mini skirts. For three days, I crossed the street, smiled at him, and walked on. Finally, he walked me on across the street and asked me out for lunch. SIGH. 7 months later, we were married. Now we’ve been married for 42 years. I have followed him as he’s become a manager of the Topeka Transit System, the Toledo system and the Fort Worth system. Now he’s retired. He’s still the great love of my life. And I still ride those buses occasionally but alas, my legs have gone to pot!
It all started with riding the bus and wearing those mini skirts!
How did you meet your love? Are you a Transit Rider? What attracted you to your significant other?