BUS STORY # 276 (Helping Hand)

Series: Toronto through my lens, a photo by askinimages on Flickr.

From the way they’re talking, the guy sitting across from the driver is either a co-worker or a friend. I think maybe a co-worker because, when we get to his stop, he heads for the back exit rather than the close-by front door, where there are people waiting to board. 

“Have a good day, bro!” he calls down the aisle just before exiting. 

A couple of new riders climb aboard, and the bus starts into the intersection. 

We all hear the siren about the same time. 

The bus lurches to a stop. We’re most of the way into the outside northbound lane and still not sure where the siren is coming from. 

A couple of seconds later, and we see an ambulance across the street, heading south. 

By the time it gets through the intersection, the light has turned red and we’re now blocking that outside lane. 

The driver can’t back up because neither he nor the rest of us have any idea what’s behind the bus. 

Then we see the guy who just got off the bus signaling to the driver to back up. He keeps signaling while keeping his eyes on whatever is behind us. When he signals to stop, we’ve backed all the way out of the lane. 

The traffic goes streaming by. 

The guy waves, then heads north up the sidewalk. 

Co-worker. Gotta be. 

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 The photo at the top of this story is "Series: Toronto through my lens," © Dean Askin, AskinImages Photography. All rights reserved. Used with permission. You can see this and other photos by AskinImages on Flickr .