Friday, October 9, 2009

Bus Ride- One story of many

Alright, so if any of you have EVER ridden on a public bus before you will probably feel my pain. Espeically if you're female and breathing. Really, it seems like that's all you have to be in order to attract the most attention. I'm sure it helps if you're young...

Anyways, story 1:

I was late, again, but it wasn't MY fault! It was because of this particular bus lady. She always left 5 minutes late and that meant I would miss my transfer, again. So I had already called and reported her (again) but as per usual I felt that my complaint was falling onto a desk of other complaints against other bus drivers. All destined for some paper shredder or perhaps a good laugh. I do not know. But that's not important.

It seemed the woman was in rare form that day for when a mom with a baby in a sling (the hand-free carrying device that reminds me of old-school pictures of the women in the fields forced to carry the burden of plant life on top of human life). Apparently it's all the rage. She also had a 18 month old in a stroller, the sweet little boy was fast alseep sure in the knowlege that mama bear would protect him from any harm.

The bus lady decided to not allow the mom with two kids to stay in the handi-capped area.

There was a gentleman waiting to get on in a wheel chair but there are two designated spots for such cases. The woman with the stroller was told to keep going to the back of the bus and angle the stroller towards the back door.

If any of you have seen a big bus you know about the second door, added for the ease of the people in the back of the bus to get off quicker. Now, from how the bus driver told the woman carrying the baby, she'd have to not only stand for the remainder of the ride but also have her child in the stroller facing the door to the outside.

Adults aren't even allowed to stand near these doors for they aren't really locked. If need be you could push really hard to get them open. Thus, this was not an entirely safe option.

So this called chaos between the mama and the driver. They continued to argue as the lady left the bus station, late again. It got so bad that multiple people got involved and soon the bus lady told the mama that she could go ahead and call her supervisor.

She did.

That meant the bus had to come to a COMPLETE stop so the bus driver could wait for the supervisor to come and solve the problem. Great. Even later than before we were forced to wait for an hour.

A waiting bus could only mean one thing to one of the young fellas on the bus: Love Connection.

He sat in the empty seat behind me and proceeded to talk to me. Now, I'm already a little agitated about the wait but I know that he's probably bored and I don't want to be rude so I carry on a conversation with him. I found out his baby's mama's name is Amanda. I hold back the comment about the ease of remembering my name, then. He tells me he's 22 and going off to a friend's house to collect on money his friend owes him. The rest is the best:

Boy: You gonna call your boyfriend to let him know you're gonna be late?
Me: I'm on my way to work.
Boy: Yeah, but ain't ya gonna call your boyfriend to let him know where you is?
Me: Why would I do that? I'm on my way to work.
Boy: Yeah, but you ain't gonna call him?

Of course I knew what he was trying to find out about me so I sighed, loudly, and smiled while praying for patience and the grace to humor him.

Me: You could just ask me if I have a boyfriend. The answer is No, I do not. But if I did I would still not call him over something like this. Cause if I'm on the bus that would mean he didn't have a car and there would be little he could do for me other than say 'aww, I'm sorry.'

After a pause (I could see the gears in his head cranking)

Boy: You're lookin' pretty good, today.
Me: I'm in my work clothes...(look of disbelief on my face)
Boy: Well, some women look good in their work clothes.
Me: Only cause we're going to make money, I'm sure.
Boy: So you's gonna be like that, right? Kinda cold.
Me: I'm sorry (not really), I didn't mean to be cold. I was just telling you why I believed some men think women look good in work clothes.

My bus starts to move and we talk about stuff and finally my stop comes up. Before I can move he holds up his phone.

Boy: You wanna put your number in this phone? (He holds up his phone)
Me: No
Boy: Can I give you mine?
Me: No, I dont' take or give numbers on the bus. Sorry. Bye.

7 comments:

Mom & Dad said...

Oy vey! Bad enough to be stuck there over such an annoying thing, but he is just rubbing salt in the wound. I have a few stories like that too... they make us appreciate the good ones :-)

Way to utilize public transportation... we could all save some ozone and learn from you!

Love the blog!
Linda

Unknown said...

xD I actually enjoy the bus! Interesting people all the time. Never a real dull moment.

Kimmy said...

I love taking the bus! Events like this are better as stories later but I sure hate it when it happens. Also, I enjoy your writing, thanks for sharing your blog.

Sara Michele said...

Holy cow, that guy was really thick! And you've got quite a bit of sass there! you're lucky he was clueless, or you might have injured his feelings a bit with that. Hehe. It's amazing he has a kid...

How did it get worked out with the woman and the kids? Was she able to use the second handicapped spot?

Unknown said...

Actually, when the bus stopped she got off and proceeded to smoke off the tension while she waited for the supervisor. Once the supervisor came she was issued a bus pass and asked to take the next bus (since neither of them wanted to be near the other).
The bus lady wasn't dismissed since I saw her again the next week, driving the same bus, and 5 minutes late leaving (again).

Scott G said...

"You're looking pretty good today." Ha! Priceless. You handled things like a PRO Amanda.

Unknown said...

*bows* Thank yah