bus chronicles part1

there is a group of ladies on my bus every morning i wish you could see. if i had any guts at all i would be interviewing them every morning with my voice recorder. gathering information on their lives for the book i will write about them someday. to people in large cities this may be the norm, but living in a city where public transportation is not the norm i feel i should share.


in the front section of the buses the seats face each other. the rest of the seats face forward and rise towards the back. this is where old ladies and women with kids usually have first dibs. they also fold up to accommodate wheelchairs. every morning at 9 am there is a group of 2-6 women who occupy the area. you better be a complete invalid if you don't move over when they arrive.


i have "my" seat too. it is the first one, at the second rise, by the back door. i actually get pretty pissed myself if anyone has beat me to it. its the best seat in the house because you get the view of almost everyone, driver included. (not only that but it keeps me from puking.) my main reason for the love affair with this seat is i get an entire episode of the group every morning.


i am completely intrigued. here is a couple of them i would like you to meet...


first, we have lipstick lady. she has been living stories for quite a while now. she has snow white hair cropped at her shoulders. she wear linen crop pants (with socks mind you). topped of with the reddest lipstick i have every seen. it is pretty much smeared all over her mouth. she has a very distinct limp and walks with a cane. i always get a smile every time i get on the bus. she is sweet all the way down to he scratched up classic reeboks. i have seen her walk really far with that limp carrying lots of groceries but she exclaims "i used to look good then i started watching tv and now all i do is sit on my butt!"


second, we have church hat lady. she is every bit of 1980's perfection. in her 70's, her outfits match ever so completely all the way down to her shoelaces. you never know what kind of day it may be... red & white day, green & yellow day black & gold day. she has all the details down to her purse and the matching bow on her sunhat. you can tell she was a looker back in her day by the way she carries herself and the way she as such graceful hands.


next, is window washer lady. she is short and feisty with long grey hair all the way down her back. its so long she sits on it even though she wears a ponytail everyday. i'm not sure what all she does but you can usually find her in shorts carrying a bucket and a window washing stick. at odd times she can be found with various other tools she is going to perform a task with. even though she bossed me out of her seat once (while carrying an infant) she is really nice. she will help any new comer on bus etiquette and schedules around town. you name a location and she can tell you what bus to take at what time.


then there is sweet M. every time she rides you can find all these ladies huddled around her counting her change. she goes to a school somewhere on the other side of the city. she is maybe in her fifties but probably never got past third grade studies. she loves chips with a passion and apparently her caretaker doesn't allow them in her lunch box. she bribes the little old ladies on the bus for change so that she can buy them form the vending machine at school. on valentines day last year she gave me a box of hearts. in addition, the other day after about 8 minutes of trying to figure out what she was saying, i discovered i would have easter candy if i rode the next day. a complete dear even though i have to climb over her legs sprawled out all in the isle... everyday while trying to balance all my bags and coffee.



a new comer to the group is unexpected. she is what i have never had the guts to do. she is near my age but she sits with the little old lady clan. she could by far be any of the ladies kid or grandchild for that matter. she has home highlighted hair and big blue eyes. you would think she wouldn't really be the friendly type. but she sits and converses with them all with the most sincere smile on her face. she eats up every piece of advice and every word of gossip.


when they all converge its like you end up watching a group teenagers giggling and gossiping in the wrong bodies. they are completely charming. that is unless you are a guy... i have seen men try to sit and put their two cents in thinking they could keep up with all their clucking. you better believe every man left that bus pretty worn out after they tore him to shreds.

........... to be continued....................