“Why on earth do you ride busses instead of trains?”
I’ve heard this question more than a few times.
I know busses are slow and the subway system is a quick and
efficient means of transportation. But I choose to travel by bus as long as I
have the time.
And since I am a retired person I usually have the time.
I don't mention the real reason I choose busses over trains.
You see, subways bring out the worst in me.
I become a real curmudgeon riding them.
On a bus my gaze turns outward to the sights of my city. I
never get enough of looking out the window. There are so many fascinating
things to observe. I am tranquil and at peace on a bus.
But put me on a train and I become a people watcher. And not a particularly
kind one.
With the exception of noticing what people are reading and
finding real solace in the number I see reading print materials I become quite
critical.
And if the train is stalled, downright mean.
I start wondering why.
Why is that young woman glaring at the schoolgirl slouching
against a pole? I had applauded the sloucher for reading a paperback but now I
see she is hogging the entire pole. The first woman, who is a bit short and
struggling with the strap, is using the evil eye technique on the pole clinger
until she actually vacates her spot and moves elsewhere.
I’ll bet you know what happens next. Yep the critic grabs
the pole and hogs it all for herself. And she’s not even reading!
They were both wearing flip-flops. This is another thing I
wonder about especially on trains. Flip flops seem rather risky footwear on crowded
trains. Feet look so vulnerable in them.
I guess they survive just fine since all I see are flip-flops. I notice
a rush to wear them any time of year, rain or snow. If the temperature rises
above twenty I am sure to see feet clad in flip-flops.
I am surprisingly uncritical of man spread. The darn seats
on the trains are so narrow I kind of sympathize. Unless a guy is spreading
into my territory. Of course.
Backpacks. Now that's an area for extreme curmudgeonry. Do
people really forget that they have the equivalent of an encyclopedia hanging
off their backs as they maneuver through crowded trains? We duck and cower as they
obliviously push their way. Back packers invariably glom onto their devices. No
books - print or otherwise.
Little kids? Why do little kids get seats while the adult
stands up? I always sat down and held my
child on my lap. Maybe people are stronger these days. I always needed the seat
more than I thought my kids did. Of
course some of them do read books.
And then there are the bra straps for me to wonder about.
All these pretty summer sundresses with straps hanging out.
Didn't we win the right to go braless 40 years ago? And now it seems all I see
are layers of them! Gorgeous dresses with an entire open back revealing a
grungy bra. Don't these women have mirrors? Is this some sort of anti feminist
badge? Maybe some sort of modesty? Laziness?
My daughter says it’s a style.
We rejected girdles and garters too. Can I look forward to
them becoming a style soon? Oh yes, I forgot, Spanx have replaced them. And no
one wears stockings anymore it seems. I keep wincing at the sight of stiletto
heels and bare legs. Don't those thing hurt your feet even more without
stockings? And like flip flops I see open toed shoes in the depths of winter.
Todays young woman has to have perfectly groomed legs to punish in the cold
without stockings in high heeled toeless shoes. Is this an improvement?
I am beyond criticizing who does or does not get up to give
away seats to older people. Sometime I get offered seats, sometimes I don't. I
used to try and look at the bright side and tell myself I must not look old
enough to need one.
Now I just hang onto my pole, try not to look pitiful in my
stockings and shoes and hope for the best.
Or I read.
