Conversations

Conversations on a bus are interesting. The dynamic is such that a large group of totally unrelated people from all walks of life, get on a bus. They selectively choose who to sit with and who to avoid based upon appearances (and sometimes smells) alone. And then, they decide to either remain quiet or engage in a conversation with a total stranger, or my favorite, pull out their phone and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

A very drunk young man dressed in a pin-stripped suit, with rumpled shirt and tie in disarray got on my bus and announced in a very loud voice, "My girlfriend just dumped me!" He then walked two seat rows back and sat next to a young blonde haired girl of about 18 years and proceeded to explain in detail what led up to the breakup.

Seated in the front seat, a dowdily dressed middle-aged woman took out her cell phone, placed a call and then proceeded to order a book from Amazon.com. She provided, with great clarity, her name, the correct spelling, her credit card number, expiration date, mailing address and phone number. Wow! Talk about an opportunity for identity theft. She couldn't have made it any easier for a nefarious eavesdropper.

Four young men dressed in baggy pants and black ball caps on backwards, boarded the bus, paid their fare and swaggered to the back. There they proceeded to converse, every other word being a derivitive of the "F" word.

I had to get on the overhead speaker and ask them to clean up their language.

Two Hispanic ladies, excitedly talking with each other, obviously about something thrilling, because interspersed in their conversation with each other, I hear squeals of delight. I wish I understood Spanish better -- or maybe not!

A middle aged man, dressed in a dress shirt, tie and slacks earnestly tries to convince someone on his cell phone, that it is in their best interest to approach their client in a certain way. He was fairly careless in his conversation because the client's name was mentioned several times and the pros and cons of their business proposal were clearly heard by those around him.

Earlier in the day, a woman received a call from the principal's office, with news that her son would be in detention after school for some kind of school infraction. As soon as she sits down, she calls her son and loudly scolds him for his intolerable behavior and the inconvenience that she will now have to endure because he missed the bus home.

In the wheelchair area a sexily dressed lady strikes up a conversation with a man at least 20 years senior to her. Her non-verbals convey her interest in this man and it doesn't take long until he too shows his interest. He moves from the seat behind her to the seat across the aisle and they continue their conversation. By the time we arrive at her stop, business cards with phone number are exchanged. As she walks to the front of the bus, she turns to steal one last glance and as she does, she winks at him.