Search Results for: septa girl

  BY PHILLYGRRL The white boys on the 47 bus are talking about Jews. They are young, most likely Temple students and they are talking about Jews for Jesus. “He asked me if I was Jewish and I said ‘yeah’ but of course I’m not,” said the boy. “I ain’t no Jew.” His companions chortle and look over at me. I adjust my headphones and grasp the box of cupcakes tighter. I’m worried about where this party is located and if this is the right bus to ride. In the spirit of adventure and thriftiness, I impulsively boarded the 47 […]

  BY PHILLYGRRL This past Wednesday, as I rushed from the subway to class, I had nearly forgotten what day it was. But the security guard at Temple reminded me. “Ahem, young lady! Young lady!” I stop in my tracks. “Young lady, today is a very special day for me. Do you know what day it is?” I try not to look at my watch and frantically think. Birthday? Anniversary? I know almost nothing of this man. All I know is that he makes it a point to get familiar with each student. That by the end of the second […]

BY PHILLY GRRL Oh, SEPTA! What a day. This morning started out so well. [9:23 AM ] While on my way to Walnut and 12th to catch the 42 Bus, I saw an elderly black man wearing a black fedora and a dark maroon coat running to the bus stop in front of the Reading Terminal. As the bus came closer to 11th and Arch, his cane caught a crack in the sidewalk and he lurched forward, his senior citizen card falling from his hand. Before I could get to him, the bus driver pulled to a screeching halt and […]

BY PHILLYGRRL I’m sorry, but smooth-talking subway Philly boys ain’t got nothing on the international student. I’ve come to this conclusion based on the inordinate amount of time I spend every week at the Cecil B. Moore stop by Temple University. And now exclusively for Phawker readers, the results of my extensive research. (I’d show you my graphs, but I’m saving them for the white paper.) The thing Philly guys get wrong is, they think they have to pretend to know everything to get girls to talk to them. They affect this worldly air that might work in a smaller […]

BY PHILLYGRRL Wheelies. That’s what some people on my morning bus call folks in wheelchairs. Usually it’s said in a negative context. Like, “Damn them wheelies, if another one gets on the bus, I’m going to be late.” Because you see, in order for someone in a wheelchair to get from the sidewalk to the inside of the bus, the driver first has to lower the bus and then lower a platform a ramp. Once the person is in the bus, the driver must then flip up one of the chairs and strap the wheelchair in place. It can take […]

BY PHILLYGRRL It’s surprisingly easy to resent the homeless man who uses the bench at your bus stop as a bed. Especially if you’re carrying three textbooks that weigh five pounds a piece and are waiting for a bus that comes once an hour. Last Thursday, as I waited for the 44 to come by at 13th and Market, I found the bench occupied by three elderly men – two black, one white – who were engrossed in a deep conversation when I came by. I stood for a minute before one man nudged the other who nudged the other […]

BY PHILLY GRRL The thing about night school is, you’re practically brain dead when you get out from class. A typical workday coupled with three mind-numbing hours of lectures can leave one in a daze. At least that’s the excuse I use when people ask me why I almost got myself killed  on the subway this past Monday. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. I didn’t almost die. What I did do, however, was violate one of my number one SEPTA subway rule: Always exit in groups. I tend to get lost very easily when it comes to the orange line. I’ve […]

[Photo by TOAST QUEEN] BY PHILLYGRRL It was a quiet week on SEPTA — for me anyway. Perhaps the hothouse weather pacified my fellow passengers, because everyone seemed to be on their best behavior. Even the otherwise-active subway kids opted for their headphones instead of mild flirtations with their peers. Hot in the city,  indeed. Nobody moved as much as an inch when the homeless man on the C bus tried to start a fight with the driver. And he gave up  as quickly as he’d begun. So it was that yesterday found me in a sad state of affairs […]

BY PHILLYGRRL Day three. The lady on the 55 bus couldn’t find the 75 cents she needed for a transfer. So she started looking. The front half of the bus stared in fascination as she dipped down low into her expansive bosom and fished in her white bra. From under her teal shirt up came a cell phone. Out came several tokens and some slips of paper. The lady moved her hand slowly, leisurely through the cups, oblivious to the stares and the murmurs from the elderly ladies to the right and left of me. “Now that’s a damn shame,” […]

BY PHILLY GRRL I vividly recall the first time I became a SEPTA apologist. It was my sophomore year at Temple. The Philadelphia Orchestra was playing Beethoven’s Fifth down at the Kimmel Center and I had just gotten a free ticket. It was the first time I was going to see them play and I was more than a little excited. An hour before the show started, I ran to the restroom at the student center to put on my makeup. (In my naïveté, I assumed the orchestra audience was akin to what I imagined the opera-going audience to be […]

[Photo byEDWARD NOBLE] BY PHILLY GRRL When not riding SEPTA semi-professionally for Phawker, I tutor kids K-12 on behalf of the Philadelphia School District. As part of my resolve to ride on every single bus route in Philadelphia, I blithely hop onto the 23 Bus for the first time to meet a student in Mt. Airy.  The bus is packed with the after-school student crowd. To the left of me, two schoolgirls in plaid, scarlet-colored uniforms are semi-surreptitiously eating large slices of cheese pizza. To the right of me a woman is screaming into her cell-phone about a girl friend […]

BY PHILLYGRRL SEPTA and dating do not always mix well. In fact, if you’re a female SEPTA rider, you may as well write off dating entirely. For one thing, waiting for the bus is not as glamorous as catching a cab. When you’re hailing a cab at the end of a date gone well, there’s a certain Carrie Bradshaw-like pose that is struck. A one-hand-on-your-hip, other hand showing-off-your-manicure pose.  There’s the shifting of weight, to highlight the stilettos. A toss of the hair, or two. Whereas if you’re a SEPTA bus taker, you have that whole exhaust-in-your-face thing. Not always […]

BY PHILLY GRRL Life as a SEPTA rider can be strange and unpredictable. One moment everything is quiet. And then some guy starts talking to the girl next to him and before you know it – everyone’s gabbing like old friends. And all of a sudden, it’s not so quiet anymore. I kinda like those frenetic, frantic days. For instance, last Wednesday…. It’s 3 in the afternoon. I’m riding the northbound Broad Street Line to the Olney Transportation Center. An elderly Asian man walks down the aisle. He is carrying a plastic pink umbrella and a pink backpack. He is […]