The 15

The group of people standing just south of the corner of Lincoln and Kinnickinnic collectively shiver as the icy wind cuts through them. All four are bundled against the cold, three have backpacks, two have cups of hot coffee from a nearby coffee shop, and one takes quick puffs off of a cigarette. Occasionally one of the backpack-carrying, coffee drinkers leans out into traffic and looks south, down Kinnickinnic. A man in a blue parka looks both ways and dashes across the busy Bayview street.

“Is it coming?” He asks, as he hurries to the bus stop.

Just then, off in the distance, the route 15 bus comes into view as it crests a hill next to the Bayview library. The man in the blue parka smoothes out a rumpled pass and scowls as he looks at the bottom-most time on the torn scrap of paper.

“Do you have twenty cents?” He asks. The man switches his coffee to the other hand, reaches in his pocket, and fishes out a quarter from the change in his pocket.

The 15 bus glides to a stop and the doors open to reveal a white haired bus driver, his face framed by a short beard. He smiles and nods as each person boards. His name is Steve Walker and he is nearly halfway through his second trip.

Studies have shown that during trying economic times, the use of public transportation increases. During the recent gas crisis, bus rider-ship was the highest in 50 years according to a report in USA Today. Now, experts are seeing an increase in the number of people taking the bus once again. The bus is becoming the main means of transportation for many of Milwaukee’s residents.

The 15 bus route starts at the Milwaukee County Transit garage at the intersection of Kinnickinnic Avenue and Mitchell Street and goes south to Drexel Boulevard and Chicago Avenue in South Milwaukee. It is at the southern-most location that Walker turns off the bus and relaxes during a fifteen-minute layover. His first 15 run starts at 4:30 a.m. and he completes 3 runs over the course of his shift. Making the round trip between South Milwaukee on the southern end and Bayshore Mall at the northern end takes him 3 hours. He had previously spent 8 years driving the 18 run along National Avenue.

“That was ninety percent bar traffic.” He says with a grimace. He likes the 15 route where his only “hard” part is from North Avenue up to UWM when the bus gets packed full of college kids. But even then, most people are happy.

“I waited the other day for a guy to run a block to catch the bus. When he got on he told me that I rocked. I asked him if that was a good thing.” Walker says with a smile on his face.

Walker’s face takes on a dour countenance when he’s asked about proposed budget cuts in light of the present economy.

“How much more can we cut? My brother just got his hours cut from 40 hours a week to 32 at Ladish.” He says, exasperated.

As the 15 bus makes its way through Milwaukee there are signs all along its route of people being affected by economic hard times. In Cudahy, just south of Layton Avenue on South Packard Avenue a man angrily paces in front of a Labor Ready employment office, smoking a cigarette. In South Milwaukee various businesses are closed and have signs advertising leasing opportunities. The only businesses that seem to be truly thriving are liquor stores and taverns. Even in the more affluent Whitefish Bay, as the 15 wends its way through residential neighborhoods, many of the houses have signs proclaiming foreclosure sales.

But even as the bus makes its way through what should be gloomy streets, the people getting on board seem to be unaffected by the fiscal dire straits. A man in jeans and a windbreaker is stopped by a woman he had been sitting next to as he gets off at a stop next to Bucyrus International in Cudahy. He’s forgotten his lunch box.

“Would have been a long day without that.” He says as he takes the lunch box and thanks the woman. She smiles and laughs in agreement.

A group of older ladies in professional clothing board in South Milwaukee and fill the bus with a cloud of sweet perfumes. They chat happily all the way to Wisconsin Avenue in the heart of the downtown. They get up and leave as a group, the same way that they got on. The perfumed cloud they brought onto the bus lingers just a bit after they leave.

A young chef from Bayview catches a ride to the posh eatery, Nanakusa, in the 3rd Ward. The 15 is more dependable than his car, he says. If he could afford to fix it, he would. However, until then the $4 round trip gets him to work and back home.

At North Avenue the bus begins to fill with college students. After only a few stops the bus is very nearly full, with the aisle full of students; all the seats have been taken. Still the bus needs to stop a few more times before it arrives at the students’ destination. When the bus stops at Kenwood Boulevard nearly half the people get off, their backpacks indicative of their eventual collegiate destination.

After the students get off, a woman gets on at the next stop and recognizes a friend that was already on board. The two young women take time to catch up, chatting happily about what festivities they partook in during the recent St. Patrick’s Day celebration. One wears a work uniform, the other, regular clothes. They both get off at Bayshore Mall.

Despite the diverse groups of people coming and going, it seems that everyone riding the 15 has a smile or a friendly nod of the head for their fellow passengers. An elderly woman gets on the bus at Kinnickinnic and Oklahoma, struggling under the encumbrance of some bags. She collapses, exhausted, into one of the seats reserved for the elderly and people with special needs at the front of the bus. One of her bags falls to the floor. Three people immediately reach for it. The college kid with the black dyed hair gets to it first and hands it back to the tired woman. She smiles and thanks him for his sweetness.

“You’re welcome,” he says sheepishly, blushing and smiling.

Even with troubles facing people everywhere they turn, on the 15 it seems that everyone looks out for each other. When someone needs help, three people go out of their way to do what they can. When someone forgets their lunch, someone makes sure they don’t leave without it. Perhaps the way that everyone is going to make it through these arduous times is if everyone looks out for each other. At the very least, sharing a smile with a stranger.

The way they do it on the 15.

Where Are the Athiests in All This?

It's early and I'm barely awake but I was reading about Sandra Cantu, the little girl that was kidnapped and murdered. (And now, apparently raped as well.) She was found in a suitcase in an irrigation pond.

The main suspect, according to police, is a woman named Melissa Huckaby. She is only a suspect at this time.

What I actually find interesting about this is that she seems very involved in her father's church. He's a minister and she was a Sunday School teacher. It's just that in the past if the accused was some one who played video games or role playing games (Dungeons and Dragons) then we couldn't blame those things quickly enough.

But when the drug of choice for the accused is religion, then we wonder what went wrong.