bus crazy
In an effort to consume less of this planet's finite resources, I have been taking the bus to work. And since I happen to ride the bus in Los Angeles, people always greet this news with a blank stare followed by, "Wait, you what? Why?" When I try to explain that the bus runs right past my house and drops me off right in front of the building I work in, that it only costs .90 cents and that my company happens to subsidize my clean air commuting, not mention the fact that gas now cost almost $2.50 a gallon and there's this whole war going on, there is no good reason for me NOT to take the bus. It all sounds good, but people still think I'm crazy.
It turns out the people on the bus think I'm crazy too.
I normally catch a 7:15am bus at a park and ride right off the freeway, the first stop for this particular bus line. But yesterday, the 7:14 bus broke down and we had to wait for the 7:45; and that meant we would be picking up twice as many people as the bus made its way through the valley.
Now, I always make a point of not putting my bag on the seat next to me (my sister, who lives in New York, told me that people who put their bag on the seat next to them are the most obnoxious people on the planet. It's just plain rude.) So, knowing that we'd have a load larger than normal on this particular morning, I made an extra effort to make sure there was room next to me. I am the most considerate busrider in Los Angeles, I smugly thought to myself.
By about the fifth stop, the bus was really filling up. And I realized that no one was sitting next to me. Now, I can speak from experience, that when you get on a crowded city bus, the first thing you do is scan the crowd and create a 'crazy scale.' You hope that the most normal - or least crazy - looking person has a seat available next to them. If they don't you go to the next person and so on until you find an acceptable bus-mate. And suddenly, here I was, clearly at the bottom of everyone's crazy scale. As people got on the bus, stop after stop, they would quickly assess the situation, decide who was the most nuts and then do whatever they could to not sit with that person - including standing.
And I was that person. It was like being picked last for dodgeball. Only now I'm 35 and I'm being snubbed for my perceived limited mental capacity as opposed to my perceived (and often real) limited physical abilities.
I'm clean. I wash. I have an okay job that I have to dress appropriately for. I couldn't figure it out. But there I was, the craziest person on the bus.
My co-worker suggested that maybe my eagerness, the fact that I'm practically tapping the seat next to me with my hand and grinning like an idiot, might be what's turning people off. Maybe. Maybe I'll sulk on Tuesday.
Or maybe I'll just enjoy the fact that I have so much space. It saves me from having to sit next to a crazy person.
It turns out the people on the bus think I'm crazy too.
I normally catch a 7:15am bus at a park and ride right off the freeway, the first stop for this particular bus line. But yesterday, the 7:14 bus broke down and we had to wait for the 7:45; and that meant we would be picking up twice as many people as the bus made its way through the valley.
Now, I always make a point of not putting my bag on the seat next to me (my sister, who lives in New York, told me that people who put their bag on the seat next to them are the most obnoxious people on the planet. It's just plain rude.) So, knowing that we'd have a load larger than normal on this particular morning, I made an extra effort to make sure there was room next to me. I am the most considerate busrider in Los Angeles, I smugly thought to myself.
By about the fifth stop, the bus was really filling up. And I realized that no one was sitting next to me. Now, I can speak from experience, that when you get on a crowded city bus, the first thing you do is scan the crowd and create a 'crazy scale.' You hope that the most normal - or least crazy - looking person has a seat available next to them. If they don't you go to the next person and so on until you find an acceptable bus-mate. And suddenly, here I was, clearly at the bottom of everyone's crazy scale. As people got on the bus, stop after stop, they would quickly assess the situation, decide who was the most nuts and then do whatever they could to not sit with that person - including standing.
And I was that person. It was like being picked last for dodgeball. Only now I'm 35 and I'm being snubbed for my perceived limited mental capacity as opposed to my perceived (and often real) limited physical abilities.
I'm clean. I wash. I have an okay job that I have to dress appropriately for. I couldn't figure it out. But there I was, the craziest person on the bus.
My co-worker suggested that maybe my eagerness, the fact that I'm practically tapping the seat next to me with my hand and grinning like an idiot, might be what's turning people off. Maybe. Maybe I'll sulk on Tuesday.
Or maybe I'll just enjoy the fact that I have so much space. It saves me from having to sit next to a crazy person.
posted by la.barabbas at 4:42 PM
2 Comments:
You mean the lady that wraps herself up in towels wouldn't even sit with you?
Wait. Were you wearing your sunglasses? That might have had something to do with it!
I was riding the KAT (Knox Area Transit) here in Knoxville for a time while my car was toast.
I call the morning round-up of all the buses at the downtown transfer point "the freak show".
After you ride a while you will get the smell and look the everyday rider needs to feel from you...if you can stick to it.
Kudos on the eco-minded travel, many wishes of good to you however you get there.
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