Better Moments on Public Transportation

Until last night, I hadn’t taken public transportation since my last post.  I’ve been driving more, but I still ride my bike a lot…that assuages my guilt.  I don’t mean to be a nerd by using big words, but sometimes they pop into my mind and it seems silly not to use them.

I stayed at work late last night because I wanted to get caught up on my blogging.  By the time I’d finished, it was almost completely dark outside.  This wasn’t great since I had ridden my bike to work.  There is a stretch of road between my work and house that is too spooky (not to mention unsafe) to take by bike.  Although I live in an urban area, this stretch of road feels like the middle of nowhere.  Then I remembered that I can take my bike on the Metro after rush hour, so I took the Metro halfway home and rode my bike the remaining way.  I still had to cross through some woods, which is totally spooky when it’s pitch black, but my bike has lights and the adreniline rush is kind of fun.

The point of this post is to include a good experience on public transportation.  I’m still not a fan of the bus, but the ride on the Metro (train) last night was nice.  First, it was fairly brief.  Second, I was facing two men, one younger and one older, engaged in a lively conversation about their relationships with their mothers.  They were sitting next to eachother, smiling, and using a lot of hand gestures.  Apparently the younger guy was complaining about his mom not approving of something he was doing.  The older guy was trying to explain that over time, you can become friends with your mother.  The younger guy indicated he would NEVER be friends with his mother.

The older guy said his mother passed away 5 years ago and that the younger guy was too recently out of the house to have that kind of relationship with his mother.  The older guy spent a few minutes trying to explain how, even if it seems impossible, things can gradually change over time.  I couldn’t hear everything they were saying, but I certainly enjoyed seeing these two men smiling and engaging in lively dialog.

Living Green

I’ve been environmentally conscious for quite a few years now.  In other words, I’ve been green since long before it hit the mainstream.  I’ve been driving a fuel efficient car for the last 7 years.  I usually run errands once a week to minimize what would otherwise be multiple trips.  I walk and ride my bike often.

Sometimes, I take public transportation.  I don’t happen to live near the Metro, which is the best way to get around the area in which I live.  Yesterday, after a year and a half of living in my neighborhood, I ventured on to a nearby bus.  I thought it would take me to a nearby Metro stop, but it was going to one that was not convenient to get to work.  The bus driver was nice, though, and suggested I stay on the bus and transfer to another bus, which would take me to the Metro.  I did that.  I ended up getting to work in an hour, which isn’t bad for public transportation, although it is much quicker to drive.

The second bus I took was pretty full.  I saw an ‘empty’ seat between two women.  They were both on the larger side, but I sat down anyway.  My hips were touching their hips for the next 10 minutes.  That was kind of weird.

On the way home, I took a different bus.  I found a bus that goes from where I work almost all the way to where I live.  I just have to walk 10 minutes from the bus stop to get to my house.  And the bus is cheaper – only $1.25.  I ended up sitting across from someone who apparently had Tourette’s.  He had a lot of unusual, jerky body movements.  During the bus ride, he periodically reached into his pants to…I guess, scratch his balls.  I’m not sure what he was doing.  He was down there for long enough to make you wonder.  I prefer to think he was scratching and adjusting himself rather than doing anything resembling masturbation. 

At one point, between scratching episodes, he began picking his nose.  This was no subtle nose picking.  He was digging for gold.  I had to look away.  A few moments later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him wipe his finger on the seat.

As my friends from Iowa sometimes say, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

I’m trying to be frugal and environmentally friendly, but taking the bus is no easy task.  Hoping this experience was a fluke, I took the same bus to work this morning.  I would like to say I didn’t see any of the same behavior.  I saw a guy grab his crotch, apparently to adjust himself.  At least it was brief.  And he ‘only’ did it once!  Here I am feeling grateful that I only saw a guy grab his genitals once on this particular bus ride.  Unfortunately, the same man in question, only a few seats away, had body odor.  I kept getting whiffs of it during the bus ride.

It was really disgusting, but for the sake of self-preservation, I tried to tune it out as best I could.  But now, here I am, feeling somewhat traumatized and needing to write about the experience.  Why does taking the bus have to be such a nasty experience?  Undoubtedly, there are freaks on the Metro, but there seems to be a higher proportion of freaks on the bus.