My trajectory for the day looks like this: get to Lindenwold at about 7am, walk to Clementon at about 8am, drive the bus to the mechanic in Woodlyn, PA, and get there at about 9am, maybe 9:30 depending on how long Ethan and I spend catching up. Meet Phoebe there, and pending the prognosis from the mechanic, possibly drive the bus to the PHLA Workspace.
The story of my relationship with this bus intersects with the story of my relationship with the city. The owners of the bus, a local band of multi-instrumentalist, cross-genre musicians called Out of the Beardspace, were among the first people I met when I began my love affair with Philadelphia about five years ago. They were part of the urban agriculture scene here, growing their own food and helping others achieve a sense of food sovereignty. They organize an annual skill sharing and music festival every June. They became my community.
Now they are taking a hiatus as a band and are selling their bus.
This intersection between the Mobile Futures Institute bus and Out of the Beardspace has me thinking of the way spaces, objects, and relationships can be reused; the way histories build upon themselves to create narratives; the rhymes that arise in the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and things we’re involved in; how our personal lives engage with bigger projects, over time.
I thought I would be annoyed at having to get myself up out of bed at 5 in the morning to pick up this "Futurebus" all the way in South Jersey for inspection, but as usual, Philadelphia Assembled has made me have compelling thoughts and feelings about interconnectedness across time and space instead.
So, stay tuned for more updates on the bus!
-Marlon MacAllister