Tag Archives: Miranda

Sister, can you spare a dime?

Tuesday, Eastbound 5th & Jackson stop, 8:40 PM

Fellow TAC‘er Miranda and I are discussing the future of transit in the region while waiting for our respective buses (me: 14, her: 36) home from the August meeting. A man approaches and asks if we can spare 50 cents. He has to get to the shelter by nine.

“And,” he adds, scratching his nether parts for emphasis, “I’ve got a rash.”

Wednesday, Westbound 23rd & Jackson stop, 5:00 PM

Chicklet and I are awaiting the 14, headed downtown to catch the 55 to my youngest brother‘s birthday celebration dinner. A woman approaches and asks, in a familiar, can-I-borrow-your-pen tone, “Hey, do you have an extra quarter?”

My wallet being close at hand (in the Ergo Baby‘s handy front pouch), I pull it out to check. As I open it, she adds, “Or an extra dollar?”

The wallet contains a 20 and a dime, so I tell her I don’t have what she’s looking for. The cheerful tone changes abruptly.

“Go to Hell!” she snaps. Then, “Some people just shouldn’t have children. I bet you’re on SSI.”

A shoe breakthrough for bus chicks

I do OK with cute and comfortable footwear (though not as well as my girl Miranda) until it’s time to really dress. I’m not big on “wear a pair, carry a pair,” so on occasions that call for high heels, I usually just choose the pair that goes best with the outfit and resign myself to a few hours of suffering.* Fortunately for me, those occasions only occur a few times a month. For those of you who must wear dressy shoes on a regular basis, some hopeful news:

Over the weekend, my friend Char (not coincidentally, a newly minted bus chick) hipped me to these (and other) height-adjustable heels:

A height-adjustable heel

 

I ain’t one to hawk products, and believe me, I’m not trying to sell you these. (I’m not really feeling the styles or the Salon Shoes prices.) I do appreciate the concept, though. Check the video.

* I have also been known to call a cab.

A mile (and more) in a bus chick’s shoes, part II

I have many, many pairs of shoes. This is not because I buy a lot of shoes. (In fact, I can’t remember the last time I shopped for footwear.) It is because my mother, the most stylish woman I have ever known, bought a lot of shoes, and when she tired of them, she handed them down to me. Many of these shoes I have given away, but some are too beautiful to part with. I wear them a couple of times a year, on special occasions, but most of the time, they sit in my closet, passed up in favor of my old standbys: heeled boots. The boots are professional, presentable, comfortable, and weather resistant. I have a black pair and a brown pair, and they work well with almost anything I decide to wear: jeans, slacks, even a skirt. What more could a bus chick ask for?

Every once in a while, though, on a regular, walking-intensive day, I have a hankerin’ to wear something a little more fun. You dig?

Enter Miranda.

My fellow TAC member, Miranda L., is young, professional, fashion-conscious, and a total bus chick. Last night, on the elevator ride to our monthly meeting, I noticed her shoes: cute, red, heeled Mary Janes–the kind of shoes I regret wearing after about 15 minutes of pavement time. According to Miranda, who’s certainly done her share of pavement time, these Mary Janes are actually comfortable.

Fellow bus chicks, behold:

Picture
Miranda, still smiling after a long day of walking
Picture
The Mary Janes, close up

I ain’t one to hawk products, but for those who want to know: They’re Aerosoles.

All she needs now is a pair of rubber taps