THE MIRACLE BUS

**Story taken from Chocolate for a Woman's Heart.**

It was a freezing December night. Exhausted from an intense day of work and the holiday frenzy, I stood at my usual bus stop, on Broadway and Ninth Street in Greenwich Village. Since I hadn't had a spare second to chow down, I was stressed to the max, and my blood sugar level was dropping rapidly. Huddling beneath Woolworth's faceless windows, appreciative of the shelter their awnings provided from the whipping wind, I wondered why every other bus but mine seemed to roll by.

I yearned to go home,curl up under my covers, destress,veg out,but I was on my way to see a new printer, having procrastinated until the final moments before my photography exhibition. I was musing on all this when my bus -M6- finally pulled in.

"Do you go straight down Broadway,below Canal?" I queried. Last night the bus had randomly decided to turn. So much for the consistency of Manhattan mass transit!

The bus driver, a big black man, smiled reassuringly.

Token in slot, I collapsed into the first single seat - designed for one passenger only, it is the favorite of lone New Yorkers. Across the aisle, two men were seated together, the bus'e only passengers besides myself. The first, a tall, lanky African American, holding a large book, The Now Bible, greeted me with a warm "Good evening!" The second man, a dark, mustached Latino, winked a welcome.

I giggled!

Then, without pause, the men and the driver broke into a gleeful, foot stompin' gospel tune.

"Do you sing together in a choir?" I managed to interject.

"Oh , no, we just met!"

Soon sounds praising the Lord, singing of angels and "The Good World a-Comin'" reverberated throughout the bus. I found myself tapping my feet, swaying to the beat, and humming along.

Miraculously, the bus never stopped to pick up any other passengers, and I was the grateful recipient of a spontaneous private concert.

I was so blissed out, I missed my stop and had to walk back several blocks.

But when I emerged from that bus, smiling, I was relaxed, peaceful, and ready to embrace the world.

"Thank you, thank you,thank you!" I called as I got off.

Just think, if all the buses in New York City were filled with song, what a different place it would be!

Jill Lynne

I was telling Kelly not to long ago that it was hard to be grumpy when you praise the Lord!