The amigas on the bus
Every day in Bell Gardens, the Dial-A-Ride shuttles around town picking up seniors. The comadres del camion, as some of the women call themselves, catch rides to the grocery store, the hair salon, the hospital, the pharmacy. The trips are quick, five, 10 minutes at most, but here at least, they never feel alone -- and the sorrow of old age is often loudly trumped by laughter. Lots of it.