Miami Bus Rides back in the Day

 On my work today at 5:30 in the morning and I noticed so many people waiting at the Bus Stops. I often find myself reflecting on a time that now seems so distant, yet feels like it was just yesterday. It was the mid 1960s , and I had just arrived in Miami with my family, . My mother, like many others in our neighborhood, never learned how to drive, and even if she did with " Mi Tio" driving school we wouldn't be able to afford a car. Instead of a car, our mode of transportation was the bus " La GuaGua" — a small detail that shaped my childhood in ways I never could have imagined.

Back then, the idea of taking the bus was nothing short of thrilling. Every ride was an adventure. I remember the excitement I felt as we stood at the bus stop, waiting . There was a sense of freedom in it . Every stop brought us to a new neighborhood, a new view of the city, and new people to meet. Twin Gables, Tower Theatre , Royal Castle , Venetian Pool, Woolworth, Burdines, Richards.

But while those bus rides are a fond memory of my youth, I can't help but wonder how different things are for children today. In an age of smartphones, GPS, and Uber, do kids still have that same sense of adventure when they ride the bus? Do they look out the window with the same curiosity I once did, watching the world go by as they move from one place to the next?

I sometimes think that modern technology, while making life more convenient, might have taken away some of the charm that once came with these simple experiences. Today, children are more likely to be immersed in their screens during a bus ride than to gaze out at the city they are passing through. The journey has become just that—a journey to the destination. It’s no longer a part of the experience itself. I haven't taken the public bus since i was about 11

I’ll never forget those days, the bus rides that shaped my memories of Miami and my connection to this city. .

As I see all those people waiting at the bus stops some of them kids, I can't help but wonder: Will kids today ever experience the same kind of excitement, the same thrill of discovery that I felt riding the bus through the streets of Miami? Only time will tell.