Buffalo, NY. On July 28th, at 07:55 AM, the bus to Cleveland departed from the Buffalo terminal exactly on schedule. There was only one important passenger missing: me. At 11:45 AM, a delegation from the Council of International Programs was supposed to meet me at the station in Cleveland. The meeting never happened. The President of 4Cities4Peace nearly reported me missing; my last "online" status was time stamped at 6:35 AM.
This situation shook my colleagues. They called offering to pay for another cab or a new ticket. Unfortunately, there were no more direct buses to Cleveland that day. The next one wasn't until 2:00 AM. After two nights with almost no sleep, spending a third one curled up on a cold metal bench was not an option. An hour later, they bought me a new ticket. The Plan: Departure at 13:20 to Cincinnati, exit at the Akron stop, and switch to a local shuttle to Cleveland. Again, just a 15-minute layover. I knew from experience that even a 5-minute delay would ruin this plan. But Akron is much closer to the final destination; getting out from there should be easier. Ghost TownWith over two hours to kill before departure, I decided to go outside and grab breakfast. The last time I ate was before leaving New York. My backpack contained a pack of chips, some M&Ms, and Serbian and Russian cookies brought from home. In my hand, I constantly gripped a bottle of Diet Pepsi purchased back on Fifth Avenue. It wasn't just for thirst — it became my primary self-defense tool. Buffalo turned out to be the most confusing city I have ever seen. Despite being downtown, the streets were eerily empty. Walking past the old post office and the baseball stadium, I tried to find a store but encountered nothing but voids. The few people around looked marginalized. Many appeared destitute, some seemed under the influence of substances. This provoked a high level of anxiety regarding personal safety. Being the only white face in sight added to the tension.
Food search failed. I returned to the terminal. An unpleasant surprise awaited me. As soon as I stepped into the mini market, a group of aggressive teenagers stormed in. Vapes in hand, waving crumpled dollar bills, shouting loudly. The clerk jumped up, trying to kick them out. The teens claimed the money belonged to them. The seller slammed the door shut right in front of them, locked it, and yelled at me: "Stay quiet. I'll help you when they're gone." Soon after, police arrived, and the gang scattered. My options were limited. I grabbed a bag of chips and some M&Ms, pushing thoughts of real food aside. The priority was surviving until the bus left. "I was bad but I did it so well" The desire to leave Buffalo grew with every passing hour. Beggars kept approaching me, demanding cash. At first, I ignored them and pretended not to understand. However, they began to get aggressive. In response, I resorted to swearing back at them in five different languages — profanity I don't usually use in daily life. Two years ago I wouldn't have done this, but exhaustion removes filters. That same Diet Pepsi bottle from 5th Avenue served as a reliable deterrent against homeless individuals who refused to keep their distance. In the waiting area, one such encounter played out like this:
Finally, the driver called us for boarding. My complex ticket raised questions due to the strange routing, but explaining the breakdown clarified everything. The driver promised to announce the Akron stop personally. The bus pulled away. I was leaving Buffalo — the strangest and most anxious city of my journey. David Polyakov (Special Correspondent from Buffalo, NY, USA) MORE: JFK — Manhattan: My First Steps in the USA Rockefeller Center: The Steel Flower of the Great Depression Cleveland: Where an Empire Was Born. The Story of Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller Akron, "All-America City 2025": One Year After the Triumph Cleveland Marks the 70th Anniversary of the Council for International Programs (CIP) A Bridge Across Space: How a Bronze Gagarin Spoke to Cleveland Древние люди из Сунгиря. Экспедиция Андрея Полякова «По Пути Афанасия Никитина» #ДавидПоляков #USA #Clevelend #CIP #наука #Экспедиция #АндрейПоляков #APITV #ЭкспедицияАндреяПолякова #Путешествия #Туризм #Авто | |
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