Old Ladies On the Bus

I am very grateful for public transit. Sure, sometimes you have to deal with smelly co-passengers (be it body order, alcohol or stale cigarettes -- it's basically a college bar on wheels in that respect.) One of the things I enjoy most about my daily commute is the eaves-dropping on others conversations. Of course, you must be very sly on your approach, because you never want to actually get caught listening in to others.

This morning was a delightful day for conversation. There were three older women who clearly had been loyal users of the 250 for many years. They greeted a variety of the other commuters as they boarded the bus. And not just hellos, but joyful greetings that indicated they'd known each other for years. They'd watched each other's children grow, they shared potluck jell-o recipes, and even their favorite places to get great deals. They were full of life. If I had to put an age on them, I'd guess they were close to their sixties. Women on the verge of retirement, but not quite ready to escape the working world. (Definitely women who will make retirement a party, though!)

After the crumbling of the old 35W bridge, our bus was re-routed to take a different major interstate. Now, in some respects, this was a good change. Our ride was shorter and I was dropped off a lot closer to my building (or at least close enough to get inside a building and take the skyways the rest of the way.) Well, these women had some hot news this morning, they had to tell everyone about how the bus was going to be returning to it's old route and going back on 35W. They had taken it on as their personal duty to make sure everyone was informed. It was cute, as they would call out to their friend five seats away and say "Hey, there Sue -- did you know we're going back on 35W -- a week from next Monday!"

Of course these women knew that they were informing the entire bus, and I think it was to try and crate a small outcry of "No, we can't return to that route, it takes longer!" They then proceeded to go on and rant and rave about how the Transit company really didn't have their act together, where was the communication, only one woman had found out because her bus driver had told her. Well, why wasn't ours telling us?!

It made me wonder if in 30 years, will I be like these women? I don't know, I don't think so. I'm to introverted to want to make sure the rest of the world knows my plight. But it was an enjoyable show for the morning, and probably explains why I've been resisting to just plop in my ear buds and listen to the iPod.