on jeeps

some are old. some have little holes the size of mongo beans in the floor. can watch the asphalt as we speed along. the sun shines through them, too. some have fancy "pleather" upolstored headliners and cushy seats. it seems that lots of marikina ones have these crazy stereo systems that blast, even at 7am. we are jammed inside. the passengers. kids. old. young. couples. families. touching. sometimes, one butt cheek on. one off.

power ballads. OPM. evanescence, the other day..."bring me to life." the music so loud it vibrates the fillings in my molars, eardrums feel like they are getting stabbed by hot pins. chest pounds with the base. ace of base, in fact this morning..."don't turn around..." (like you could!)

can't even yell "para po!" to stop. have to pull the string that lights up the light. then the driver jerks the jeep to the right. bodies flying. collect my thoughts. collect my bags. stumble out. the jeep starts moving away, as my foot alights. yay. another ride survived. i smile, grateful. bodies always close by. this helps soothe my crave for touch, i think.

when it rains, the driver askes the passengers to help unfurl the plastic to cover the open windows. it flaps in the wind. and paminsan, sprays of raindrops find their way inside. the plastic also traps the smell of exhaust inside the jeep, so i am grateful for the flapping and the occasional spray. never ceases to appall me to blow my nose at the end of the day. the tissue shows black.

the noise gets to me. music is fine, as long as i can sing along most of the time. but often there is this canned laughter and the annoying radio personalities telling crass jokes. it would be fine if they weren't so LOUD. actually, no, they are pretty annoying. it's this laugh track that they play that gets me. like a munchkin on acid, after sucking down some helium.

perfecting the art of the jeepney slouch-it's a way of positioning myself so i can see out the windows to see where we are going. the windows are small. and low. the jeep is packed. the music is loud. we go very fast. landmarks whiz by. street signs unreadable. it's an adventure everytime.

and it's fun.
even when it isn't.