Do you ever have one of those moments where your instincts are telling you not to do something, but you do it anyway?

I catch the bus home from work on Hill St. in DTLA.  There are several buses that get me close to me house, so I’ll usually catch the first one that arrives.  But since I injured my knee, I’ll wait for the 28, which is the closest line to my house.

This evening, I saw the 94 bus approaching my stop just as I was arriving.  My knee has been feeling pretty good today, so I figured I’d save some time and board.  But something in my gut wasn’t sitting well with me.

The bus was packed.  It was standing room only, and even that was in short supply.  I wasn’t using my cane or my knee brace, so nobody gave me their seat in the handicapped area.  I was nervous about how well my knee would hold out for me while getting jostled around.  It was my first time standing on the bus since my injury.  I considered exiting the bus as soon as I got on, but I had already tapped my card.  I guess there is nothing left to do but hold on and hope for the best.

BAM!

All of a sudden, the bus came to a shrieking halt.  Two women tumbled into towards the windshield of the bus, and were not too pleased about it.  Passengers around me began grumbling, and the driver instructed us all to exit the bus through the rear door.

It was only then that I saw what happened.  The bus had rear ended the truck in front of us.  It didn’t appear to be much worse than a fender bender, but I suppose that’s all it takes to ruin the day of a driver and some passengers.  Fortunately, I was far enough towards the back where I didn’t experience any of the force of impact.

I was only a block away from the next stop for the 28.  The bus pulled up as soon as I arrived, and was nearly empty.

I suppose this is a lesson to listen to that gut instinct, and practice a little patience.