Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Opinion

Lindsay Bryant

"In."

"In" is a single-syllable preposition, commonly used to denote an object is "within something" or to signal a movement opposite of "out."

In Latin, its origin, "in," is used as an intensifier, like in the words "infer" or "induct."

9:13 a.m.

In an early morning rush to catch the morning Amtrak bus back home, I was met by an obstacle more entangled than conquering Latin.

Instead of the normal routine - the bus driver tearing my ticket, handling my luggage and bidding me "welcome" - I walked into a battlefield.

In spite of my grogginess, the voices of two men arguing, and yelling in some instances, shot through me like an intravenous drug.

Insofar I could gather in that moment, I saw a 60-something, husky black man sitting in an electric wheelchair while the bus driver, a just-as-old, wispy, sweating Japanese man held a metal box attached to the outside of the bus.

Inquisitive, I approached. I stood alone with the two men next to the Diridon Station in downtown San Jose. The man in the wheelchair, with a deep voice and Southern inflection, passed his bloated hands back and forth over the joystick on his chair, as if pacing.

"Incompetent," he said. "This man doesn't know what to do." He shook his head and continued to roll back and forth.

Insensible, the bus driver knelt beside the wheelchair lift that jetted three feet above the ground from the side of the bus. He grazed his hand around all parts of the metal contraption. He was focused but frantic. "Not working," he said loudly, holding the box as if he was going to drop it. His wrist was bent down. He looked up at me.

9:20 a.m.

Inside the bus, the passengers -

I counted 13 - pressed their faces to the tinted glass. The bus should had left five minutes ago.

Insolent, the man in his wheelchair barked about the incompetence of the bus driver. I had been observing now for what seemed like only five seconds.

In spite of his effort, the bus driver continued to move the ramp up, never down and never back in, which was what needed to be done to open a door above the ramp before loading the wheelchair on the lift.

Instead, pressing each button over and over impatiently, the ramp remained stuck. "Stuck" was how we all felt that morning.

"In! It needs to be moved in. Press 'in,' man. In. In. In." The driver couldn't read English. He pressed each button impatiently, setting down the box so often to see if there was something inside the bus that would direct him or make him understand.

Continued...

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