Can't We All Just Get Along?

Today, I eavesdropped on a conversation between a 63 year old retired Navy Seal and a 49 year old fellow who was toting a cooler full of bottled water to sell at Summerfest.  I watched as these two seemingly opposite individuals found all kinds of common ground, from a love of Sheboygan as a nice and clean city with great fishing, to a fondness for Detroit and pool, and shared musical interests (including Pink Floyd and L.L. Cool J).  It was amazing to witness.  They shook hands and told each other how pleased they were to have met one another.  The bus really brings people from all walks of life together.

No.

The bus was busy today, the busiest that I have seen it, in fact.  I'm not sure if this has to do with Summerfest or what, but it was full.

I sat next to a small little lady.  I initially did not pay much attention to her, but then a few interesting qualities caught my eye.  For starters, she wasn't wearing her left shoe.  Instead, her BARE FOOT WAS RESTING ON THE BUS FLOOR.  Is the bus floor cleaner than that a public restroom?  I don't even know.  I also noticed that her shirt was inside out.  Ok, that can happen.  And then I spotted her wig...her wig was so crooked that her center part was hanging down around her jaw line.  Things got interesting from here.  We approached a stop, she stood up.  So I stood up to get out of her way.  She stood for a minute, looked confused, and sat back down.  This happened at the next stop, too.  She stood, I stood; she sat, I sat.  After the second repetition, I figured it out .  She continued to stand and sit for just about every stop.  I remained seated, however.  Every time she sat down, she sort of flopped down and bumped me with her large purse.  Gradually, this teeny little lady and her giant purse took over about half of my seat.

And, when it was time for her to get off, she said as sweetly as possible, "Excuse me," as she made her way passed me,

Record Setting Day!

Last week, I was off of my usual bus schedule.  I worked longer days so that I could take Friday off to spend it with my hubs.  I found the later afternoon bus to be a little too noisy for my liking.  One day, a guy sitting behind me was shouting about Jesus and singing to himself.  Lovely.

So, this week has been back to bus normal.  And, my ride home today was record setting!  Three different people sat next to me on my way home.  Mind you, my bus ride is only about 25 minutes.  And this is a new record for me!  The first fellow...well, I tried not to judge, but I couldn't help it.  He was just so very fuzzy.  I was super skeeved out because all I could imagine was his skinny, fuzzy arm or leg touching me and I just could not stand it,  I scrunched up to the bus wall.  Thankfully, he got off at Brady.  Then another guy got on and sat next to me.  This fellow knew bus etiquette.  When sitting next to someone and another seat opens up, take that seat (which he did).  Around North, another woman sat next to me.  She immediately got on her phone, which in my mind is a violation of bus etiquette.  Don't start a phone conversation as soon as you get on the bus because no one wants to hear it.

The end!

Red suitcases and cartoon characters

The red suitcase lady was back yesterday afternoon.  She'd been missing for a couple weeks.  I was worried about her.  But she was there, with the red roller suitcase, but without the empty cardboard syringe boxes.  And then, today, gone again.  Shaggy from Scooby Doo was absent on the way home today (he has been on every single bus ride that I've taken so far, to and fro).  His car was in the park and ride lot when I got back today so he must have had to work late.  Tough to work late on a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon.  Maybe he went out for a beer with friends and took a later bus instead.  I'm going to hope so.

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass...

It was back to the usual on the bus today.  An older gentleman sat next to me.  He pulled out a packet of papers and read them intently.  I am nothing if not a snoop, so I had to check it out.  Imagine my surprise to discover that he was reading an online update about the soap Days of Our Lives!  And it went on for several pages...I'm guessing that he had four sheets of paper stapled together.  When he was done with this reading, he pulled out the Wall Street Journal.

And, I believe that I spotted one of the joke tellers!

Awesome.

Oh, the Humanity! part deux

I usually enjoy riding the bus.  It is often entertaining, humorous (see jokes about pilgrims and bees), or relaxing.  Sometimes, it's sad.  However, it is rarely upsetting.  Today it was.

A young man got on the bus this afternoon, accompanied by a little boy (probably about 2 or 3 years old).  And this kid was WHINING.  He was forcing some serious crocodile tears.  And he was loud.  And it was annoying.  I heard the man pleading with the boy to stop it to no effect.  I then thought I heard him threaten a spanking.  I thought, "Okay...that doesn't seem like a good approach."  The whining continued and they got off the bus.  The man dragged the small boy by the arm down the aisle (his body was on the ground) and down the steps the same way.  This little boy's body was dragged down the bus steps!  And then he was dragged along the sidewalk, too!  And then he got spanked.  Do you think that he stopped crying?  He sure didn't.

Was his whining irritating?  Yes.  Did I want him to stop?  Sure!  Did his behavior warrant this kind of treatment?  I sure don't think so.

So, yeah...the bus was upsetting today.

Rainy Days and Mondays Don't Always Get Me Down

Today was a cool and gloomy, rainy day.  When I left work to get to the bus stop, I was thankful that the worst of the rain had passed.  However, the bus was slow in getting to the stop and I felt myself to start to get irritated.  I was a little cold and it was raining and my pants were getting soggy along the hems. But then I stopped and thought to myself, "When was the last time I was out in the rain and just enjoyed it?"  I couldn't remember a time, so I chose to enjoy it.  The rain was gentle, after all. And I was wearing a sweater.  And my umbrella is so very cheerful.  It was a perfectly fine few moments after all.

The Hubs

A young man got on the bus today and he reminded me so much of a younger version of my hubs Terry.  I don't know if it was the hair or the extreme skinniness or what, but the resemblance was uncanny.  I was tempted to take a picture, but thought better of it as I didn't want to be a middle-aged, creeper lady, taking pics of people probably 17 years younger than me while riding the bus!

Oh, the Humanity!

A young man struggled to find the correct change for his bus ride. Almost simultaneously, three fellow riders shouted out offers of transfer tickets, use of an M-Card, etc.  Suffice it to say, between all of these kind offers, he was able to ride the bus.  Sometimes, people are okay.

Lord of the Bus

Yesterday, I was RUNNING for the bus.  I made it!  Whew!  I was going to catch the 3:05 and it seems the 2:51 was running late.  So, I managed to catch the late 2:51 just as it pulled up and got home a few minutes earlier than I expected to.  Hooray!

I'm glad that I caught this bus because I enjoyed a overhearing a lengthy and detailed discussion between two bus riders about J.R.R. Tolkien and his books.  The dude who was doing most of the talking knew his Tolkien, for real (realz).  This fellow was no casual reader--he knew everything, all of it.

The Lone Ranger...Rider

For a few moments yesterday, I was the ONLY person waiting for the bus.  It was eerie.  I've never had that experience before at this particular busy and popular bus stop.  It was short lived; however, as the usual sea of humanity fairly quickly assembled to board the bus.  

Grandmummy and Grandaddy

Today, the entire bus was treated to a phone conversation between a young woman (probably mid-twenties) and one of her parents, I assume.  No one else was making any noise,  And she actually referred to her grandparents as Grandmummy and Grandaddy.  And then she went on to discuss how she needs to find a new psychiatrist, but hasn't been able to yet, and so will need to see Dr. Brooks again.  Oh, she's almost out of money, too.

I don't even know what else to say about this one.