The Time I Rode the CTA for 24 Consecutive Hours

Hi Scott, For starters, you have an Ashton Kutcher look with the hair--love it! Anyway, I was born and raised in Chicago where taking public transportation was a way of life. If you were here in the 80's, you would have really had some stories to tell. This was an era where the train lines did not go by color code--there as an "A" and "B" train and the Brown Line was called the Ravenswood. The Blue Line was just known for going to the west side or the western suburbs and I don't think the Pink and Orange Line was available--if it was it was one of those trains you didn't use unless you were being released from the Cook County Jail. There were also conductors who took money from you if a clerk was not available at a station. The conductors used to be in charge of opening and closing doors and calling off stops. My favorite memory was when the CTA had the "Super Transfer", available only on Sundays. That was when most of Chicagoland went to the movies when they were downtown. This transfer allowed you to ride for 24 hours and it was only $1.75. It was made of thin paper so you really had to be careful handling it. Then there were the tokens ($10 for a pack of 10) and if you were on public aid or something called GA (for those who were single that received cash or food stamps) were given blue slips of paper to transfer from one bus to another. This was supposed to motivate people to look for work, but of course there were those who abused the system. I also loved when you were able to stay on a bus or train and ride to the end of the line without having to get off and pay again...sigh, those were the days!

you do the most unusual things, to be riding the cta for 24hrs is something most people wouldn't want to do, but you made an adventure out of it.
Thank you for writing it, because it reminded me of a nite i decided to do something i thought was at the time spontaneous, most ppl think is stupid..
i was searching for the love of my life!

vday 2007, location: the bay:
when i lived in san francisco, i got on the geary bus in search of the love of my life. i was rather lonely. i started my trip in the evening after a few boring classes at USF...it was misty and foggy and i was sick of seeing many girls and guys holding hands and me holding nothing but an umbrella with cat eyes and ears...i wanted to hold someones hand...
instead of pouting about my loneliness i decided to do something about it. So i went to my dorm room, put on my best dress, and decided to have a date with the nite (& hopefully finding someone along my way that was doing the exact same thing!)...i thought it was brilliant!

i felt positive as i boarded the geary bus...i thought surely someone would notice me and start talking to me. 30mins pass, and boredom started to creep within me...my optimism was fading...i decided to end my trip after and hour...maybe i would have met someone if i stayed a min. longer, or maybe i wouldn't have met anyone at all...i dont know what would have happend if i rode the buses for 24hrs, but maybe il try it one day...either way, i thought it would be more interesting to find someone in the bus or train, than in the bars...and it was still a personal adventure of my own that i will never forget...thanks for your post and reminding me of my personal trip :D