Getting
on the Number 12 bus one afternoon to come home, there was only one
seat available that I could see – about halfway back. There was a
man's coat draped over the seat and the guy sitting next to it was
intently reading a book and had a scowl on his face.
Now
as you might imagine, contrary to my clown aspirations, I was always
very self -conscious on the bus – just wanted to sit down and be
out of the way. Standing was not a problem if all the seats were
occupied, but I would be very conspicuous if I let someone's coat sit
in a seat while I stood in the aisle.
“Excuse
me? May I sit here?”
The
man pretended not to hear.
For
a moment I contemplated standing instead of sitting because if I
pursued it, the man was very likely to say “NO!” and then I would
be conspicuous for sure.
Weighing
both options, I tried again, “Excuse me? Do you mind if I sit
here?”
An
utterance of disgust came forth from the man, and he jerked his coat
off the seat so I could sit down.
“Thank
you.”
The
bus went along its route. I was hoping the guy would get off soon so
I could stop worrying about him being mad at me.
Then
an even louder utterance of disgust came out of the man! And he
looked over at me.
“What?”
I asked.
“This
is such a Cow Town!”
“What's
wrong?”
“The
noise! Listen to the noise! People are talking to each other!”
“What
should they be doing?”
“I
come from New York City – nobody talks on the subways or the buses
there!”
“Well
that's because they don't know each other – too many people there
to run into the same ones every day on the ride home.”
“Exactly!
This is a Cow Town!”
“These
folks catch the same bus home every day; after a while they get to
know each other; and they obviously enjoy sharing their day. I think
that's better than what you are describing in New York City!” And I
felt a twinge of envy – if I got in the habit of riding the bus
home at the same time everyday – I'd get to know some people too,
and I could share my day; but I'm too much of a loner. What a terrible clown!
“You
are not supposed to talk to people on public transportation.”
“Well,
it appears you are talking to me!”
We
continued chatting until the bus came to his stop. I don't remember
what all we talked about, probably because I was not so much listening as I was enjoying
the irony of the man complaining on the bus about people who talked
on the bus.
Maybe
a little bit of Cow Town rubbed off on him.
260
20150917 Riders on the Bus go Yak Yak Yak
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