The Short Bus

Taking public transportation has its perks. Aside from the obvious, like saving gas money and reducing your carbon footprint, riding a bus or train offers a lesson in human behavior. Even a casual observer can't ignore the all the crazy human antics on the bus. From the mundane, like where people sit or if they follow bus etiquette rules or how. To the old man pouring rum into his coke bottle or couple fighting.

Sometimes you can observe your fellow riders from afar, like from across the aisle. But other times you are smashed together so tightly that getting off at your stop can be the biggest challenge.

This morning I sat in the back of the bus with a group of teenagers and pre-teens on their way to their respective schools. Most of the kids were on the way to middle school, but the girl leading the conversation and fielding questions was on her way to a high school. The big time. She enlightened them to all the wonderful things they will hate about life when they reach puberty: school sucks, parents suck, everything sucks. They ate it up. She was very impressive to them. She skipped school to smoke pot and her friend got expelled for taking a gun to school. She told them that school was okay if you were smart, but for someone who isn't like her - "what is the point?" The middle school kids didn't really have an answer for her.

This afternoon I sat in the back of the bus again but this time with a crazy old man. He mumbled the entire time to himself. He opened a bag of potato chips, "oh yeah, barbeque. Oh man I love barbeque, good stuff." He read the newspaper aloud. He talked about his daughter. He talked about how much he loved the bus - he could get on it anywhere and be only 15 minutes from where he needed to go. Unlike the high school girl talking to a group of wide-eyed middle school kids, no one paid any attention to the crazy old man. Which is a shame, because I bet we'd have a lot more to learn from him.

Most people who ride the bus are boring like me: reading, listening to their ipods, or simply staring out the window on their way to work or home. But even we boring riders have something to offer...even if it's just in our reactions to the other people.