Bluebird of Happiness

Public transportation is a great way to experience the city, you get a feel for the neighborhoods and the people. Going to and from BART to the deYoung Museum yesterday mom and I took the SF Muni N-Judah line. On the way back to BART the bus (and I use the term loosely) was fairly crowded so we sat towards the back, two seats away from a young girl on a cell phone. She was maybe 15, a little pudgy, long black hair. The conversation centered on meeting up with her friends who boarded the bus a couple of stops later. The three of them sat together giggling, text messaging boys, rolling their own cigarettes. The original girl sang a little, threw in a few seated dance moves; she called out to the hot boys on the street, and laughed and laughed. I don’t know where they were going on a Sunday afternoon and they looked like the kind of kids who are generally trouble. But it was beautiful the happiness this girl radiated, the world is her playground, not afraid to dance on a bus or yell at the boys. I hope she never loses that energy, never has a worry or a frown. It made me just a little envious; I don’t know when I’ve felt that free; yet seeing her made me glad that there could be so much delight in one young person in San Francisco.