monochrome

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Port Authority, NYC

For a while a friend of mine was working in New Jersey. She'd take the bus there every morning; every evening she'd take the bus back. Every so often, I'd meet her at the bus station on her way back and we'd have dinner, though never at the terminal itself, though I was often tempted by the pretzels.

I don't know what I think about bus terminals. I don't romanticize them as much as I do airports (though airports aren't as much fun as they used to be) or train stations. Somehow, they feel more purely functional.

I rarely take buses in the states. When I do, it seems they almost never leave from a terminal, per se. When I take the Chinatown bus home, it picks up on a sidewalk on the Bowery. The airport buses also pick up on a sidewalk, albeit across the street from Port Authority. I'm thinking of trying Megabus to go somewhere sometime soon; that, too, picks up on a sidewalk. It's part of their business plan not to pay for a slip at the station.

I took this photo one evening while waiting for my friend. I was probably early, or her bus had been delayed by traffic. I had probably tired of reading the New Yorker or I had finished it or had forgotten to bring it. I watched the people walk to and fro, occasionally run for a bus. I'd listen to the announcements and the footfalls and the murmuring of conversation echoed by the hall. And I'd sit quietly and wait.