Home again, home again, jiggity jog

Greyhound Bus Advertisment 1954
Originally uploaded by jackie121467

I am back home after a month in rehab and two days and two nights on the bus. First the bus. A meditative experience at times, but definitely not the conveyance if you want to get a decent night's sleep!
I live in South Dakota, middle of the state and I went to a facility in Michigan and I rode the bus, 24 hours there, but, ah, the return trip was somewhat more eventful. Before you ask, I will tell you. To fly from Sioux Falls, SD to Detroit or Kalamazoo costs a thousand bucks-bus costs 300. 'Nuff said
So I am all happy to have finished the program and I get on the bus and I travel all the live long night. In a bizarre rerun in reverse, the Chicago stop was supposed to be an hour layover but was an hour late, just as when I was going to AFR. We finally got to Minneapolis and the driver told us the bus to Sioux Falls was cancelled! The Greyhound supervisor got the word that the busline we were supposed to transfer to (Jefferson Lines, may their name be accursed!) had not only cancelled the ride but refused to provide lodging, food or even taxi fare to get to lodging! Basically they said, sure you paid, but fuck you guys! Several of us who were stranded got together and checked into a rental car; 278 bucks. One of the guys spent a lot of time on the road for his job and had traveler's points for rooms at LaQuinta Inn so he booked rooms and we got a taxi and five of us spent the night in Minneapolis. Steve, the guy I shared a room with, room is really a great guy from Georgia on his way to Rapid City, SD to visit his son and grandkids. He is an iron construction worker and probably on seasonal lay-off. Turns out he had a hell of an addiction to pills, we like the same kind of movies and had quite a lot in common. We watched stand-up comedy and funny movies all evening, ate pizza and actually had a pretty good time. Art, the guy who got us the rooms puts up cell phone towers for a living and climbs towers hundreds of feet high, and he's 46! He was just laid off but anticipates returning to work in a couple of weeks. I sure hope that happens for him. Fernando, a young black dude, was on his way to Mankato MN to stay in a homeless shelter until he finds a job. Dude had 3 bucks left! Cory, another of the guys is a laid off electrician and a hell of a decent guy. Chris, the sole woman is unemployedand returning to Wyoming from Georgia where she went for a funeral. She had seven dollars left. So three older white guys, two younger black guys and a middle aged woman with no front teeth shared, laughed, survived and became friends. How excellent is that?! We got our bus, talked to each other most of the way and exchanged contact info. And here I am.home, sober and feeling peachy.
More about rehab later.