Have you ever ridden in a car or bus and wondered about the other people in the other cars or on the bus with you? Where are they going? Where did they come from? What is their life like? Well, after some brainstorming and beers this weekend, I was challenged to go beyond “observing” people, but actually engaging them. I’ve engaged people on the street in the past, but the new challenge has a different venue–the bus. While the bus is seamlessly weaved into the banality of city life, I’m sure each person riding it has a unique and special story to share. Whether they share it with me or not–we’ll find out! Anyhoo, here’s the one right after we talked about the challenge. I’m actually not too happy with this picture. It’s just “blah” to me, but oh well. Now I have to focus on getting the image AND the interaction.

This is Shirley. Her bag caught my eye on the bus ride home on Saturday. Not only is the bag be-jeweled, it’s be-clocked! There’s a working clock INSIDE the bag! So I approached her once she got off the bus. She was very friendly and said she’s helped a lot of students with their projects since she works at a stationery store across from the Academy of Art downtown. She’s actually been working at that store for 31 years and she STILL works there. Her friend gave her the bag in June as a present for her 83rd birthday.