Whom Would You Ride The Bus With?

Ralph Foster, like most people, dreams of being happy and successful.

So if he could ride the bus with anyone, he would pick the man he sees as a role model for success.

“Michael Jordan,” said Foster. ​“Without a doubt.”

Foster was among a number of CT Transit riders in New Haven, Hartford and Waterbury approached with the question: If you could choose anyone to take a bus ride with, who would it be?

It was a momentary break from the routine of riding the bus — an experience which can be burdened with late rides, missed connections and crowded buses.

Answers ranged from sports stars to celebrities to significant others.

Foster said he would love to ask Michael Jordan what it takes to be successful in life.

“You can become a doctor, singer, whatever you want in this world, and you have to have discipline and financial stability,” said Foster. ​“I think Michael Jordan is a successful man and would be able to tell me how to reach my goal of being happy and successful.”

“He’s a winner,” Foster said, ​“and he never gives up.”

The Famous

William Jason Soto sat on a Hartford bench, lit a cigarette and smoked half of it, while considering his perfect bus mate.

“Angelina Jolie,” Soto said. ​“She was in Tomb Raider, and I absolutely loved the video game as a kid. I would love to ride the bus with her.”

Other celebrity answers included Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes and Adam Levine.

“I would have to say Denzel Washington,” said Ramona Marshall, as she waited for her bus in downtown New Haven. ​“He’s such a good actor and I love his movies a lot.”

Marshall said she would love to have a conversation about life, nothing in particular.

“Just a day to day conversation would be nice,” said Marshall. ​“I think I would be able to relate to him.”

Micah Small, a 19-year-old dancer, choreographer and innovator from Waterbury also picked Washington because of his acting skills and personality.

“He’s a genius,” Small said. ​“Having one bus ride with him would be awesome. He’s great.”

Jeff Kamininski was in Hartford looking for some fare money to get to the next city on his cross-country tour. He is originally from California and has been making his way across the country by bus and train. In addition to some loose change he got the question: Who would you want to ride the bus with?

“Adam Levine from Maroon 5,” Kamininski said. ​“I could get some tips from him about women, so he’d be interesting.”

The Dead

Some riders picked celebrities who have already died.

“I would love to take a bus ride with Jimi Hendrix,” said Ernest Saunders said.

Saunders said Hendrix is a very interesting person and he would love to meet the guy.

“I like music,” said Saunders, ​“and to be able to talk to the man who changed the world of music would be so interesting to me. I would love that.”

Osvaldo Martinez sat on a Hartford curb, intently watching The Fast and the Furious on his cell phone while he waited for his bus.

“I would ride the bus with Paul Walker. He was a good actor,” Martinez said. ​“I loved him in The Fast and the Furious movies. He may be dead, but that guy is still real and alive to me.”

Clarence Mitchell, a 55-year-old Waterbury man who prides himself on his fancy clothes, picked Marilyn Monroe.

“She’s pretty,” Mitchell said. ​“Who wouldn’t want to ride the bus with her?”

The Forgotten

Jeff Hedman, 58 from Waterbury, pictured the 1995 song ​“One of Us” by Joan Osborne when asked whom he would ride the bus with.

The lyrics include the line: ​“What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way home.”

Hedman has been unemployed for a while and doesn’t have a car.

“The bus is my only option,” he said.

On Joan Osborne, whose most popular song was on the radio almost 20 years ago, Hedman said: ​“I don’t know why I thought of her. I guess it’s because I like her singing.”

The Intimate

Reggie Simmons dreams of a bus ride with someone he already knows. 

“I would bring my girlfriend,” said Simmons. ​“Definitely.”

Just being with his girlfriend all day would make the best bus ride he could think of, said Simmons.

“She is the closest thing to me,” said Simmons. ​“She’s everything. We can talk about anything, politics, religion. It doesn’t matter, as long as I’m with her.”

Leona Coleman also chose her significant other, who is away at college. They only see each other in the summers, she said.

“I think I would just have to go with my boyfriend,” said Coleman. ​“I miss him so much.”

Having a certain destination wouldn’t be necessary, just spending time with him would be enough, said Coleman.

“I don’t care where we go on that bus ride,” said Coleman. ​“We could just sit there and talk about everything. Just what’s been going on in our lives, anything. I would just want to be with him.”

The CT Bus Diaries project is a collaboration between the New Haven Independent, the Valley Independent Sentinel and students from the multimedia journalism class at Southern Connecticut State University. The students are blogging about experiences on CT Transit’s bus lines in order to give a glimpse into the commutes of the people using the bus system.

Share your CT Transit experiences with us by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) photos or videos to Jodie Mozdzer Gil or tagging #CTBusDiaries on Twitter posts.

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