By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
Going back to our home requires taking either the bus or the jeep or spending more cash to ride a taxi. Since the trip back home is around an hour long, going by jeep or bus is the only viable choice when saving money. Riding in a jeepney is the route we mostly go by. Even if the lines are long under a rainy or extremely hot weather, there isn’t really much of a choice. A rule of thumb to remember when going back to our home in Taloy is, if there is a long line of people in the jeepney terminal, then the line is probably even longer in the bus station. So it’s usually better to stick with the long lines of jeepneys rather than the even longer lines at the bus station.
Early afternoon is a good time to go back home with the busses going to Dagupan, Tarlac, etc. Since it’s faster and generally more comfortable, many of our neighbors and residents of nearby places go back home on a bus on several occasions.
Riding on a bus or jeepney is also inevitable to adjust for others getting on. On a jeepney, where they usually wait till its full before starting their trip, passengers who get on late usually “sabit” using the several bars of a jeepney outside.
It’s not surprising to see even kids in elementary and younger ages to do the same stunt. Their schools in Tuba are just too far from the jeepney station that they must spend more money going to Baguio if they want to have a seat. So, a lot of them just wait for the full jeepneys instead and grab on the bars outside.
The same happens when riding on a bus. They also pick up the students and other passengers waiting along the Highway.
A senior citizen was one of these passengers who got on along the way and was forced to stand since the bus was already full. Lucky enough for her, I wasn’t carrying anything heavy and was able to give her my seat and stand instead.
Shortly after, a lady with her young child made space enough for the half of me to sit in.
The instances of kids and the elderly having to stand on a bus or “sabit” outside on a jeepney is all too common. I couldn’t always give them my seat. But this time, doing the right thing made sense.
Doing good will always attract good things. Though expecting something for doing a good act defeats the purpose. Nevertheless, whether we want it or not, good things will have an easier time coming to us when we also do good.
If we are able to, we must always act in the service of goodness. So long as we can move, do the right thing. **
