White Water Life Rafting, continued
In May of 1995 she disappears for almost 16 days. Each time this happens we contact the Transit authorities because Christi's favorite form of recreation and escape other than "retail therapy" is riding the buses. She knows every driver and route and sits close to the drivers for safety. We struggle with the idea of putting up fliers at the transit stations and the places where the drivers report to work, realizing that she has the "right" to not come home, she has the "right" to ride the buses morning, noon and night but every time there is a report on the news of a body being found or something equally as scary our hearts drop and we put up the fliers. We begin to have calls from drivers with Christi sightings. We know she is alive and well. So, on the 16th day, after eluding us several times Joe goes to the main transit station in El Monte at midnight when there are only a few routes still running. We know that Christi favors the bus to downtown L.A. at this time and so he meets that bus and there she is. He steps on the bus and invites a tired and pretty scroungy looking wanderer to come home with him - the driver looks a little concerned. Meanwhile, Christi refuses his invitation and says she's "goin' downtown". He says he'll go with her and pulls up a seat behind her and tries to engage her in conversation. They get to the end of the ride and, it is the middle of the night and they are in the middle of downtown L.A. They have to get off the bus and walk a ways to get on the next bus going back towards home. They come back to the transit station and she follows him off the bus. The journey is over, the worrying is done.
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