Saturday on a Bus
Sep. 11th, 2005 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aamusedinatxSo, last night about 6:30 I was on a bus hurtling towards Oakland so that I could attend the housewarming party for the Kitten with a Whip and her roommate. About half way through the first leg, a man got on the bus. He's annoying, loud, thinks he's funny, and he's not and won't do what he's supposed to do, drop in his fare or his card and go sit down. He keeps standing there trying to make the bus driver laugh, which just annoys the driver, and so the driver finally has to tell him "go sit down!"
He sits down a few seats behind me. Two stops later an elderly man from Eritrea gets on the bus. I notice, as he comes up the steps he's waving across the bus driver to someone who is rushing across Telegraph against the light to catch the bus. The driver sees her too and waits. Now this man is, by my guess, in his 70s at least. He's getting his wallet, and the fare. The youngish woman (maybe 30) gets on and he greets her quickly and pays both fares.
While this is going on, our previous joker is saying things like "Sit down so this bus can go." "Get behind that yellow line!" "Fucking Foreigners." "...don't have the respect to speak our language but want to live in our country..." The elderly man sat beside me and the woman sat on the other side of him. Our raver kept going and getting more agitated. Several people on the bus were irritated with him already but no one was making eye contact or saying anything to him. He's black, angry, outspoken, ignorant and well over six feet tall. Finally he lurches to his feet and bears down on the couple sitting next to me.
I never really know just what insanity it is that propels me at these moments. Even in 5" heeled 'fuck-me' maryjanes, I'm short, but I got up and blocked him. Stared him down and said;
"You are one to talk, the bus driver had to make YOU go sit down. Now you be nicer to people and sit down and shut up."
He glared at me as if he could vaporize me in a glance. My sunglasses, which had slid half way down my nose at that point, allowed me to glare right back at him over the rims. I didn't move and I didn't flinch. I'm sure it was only seconds but it felt like minutes.
"Nice cleavage by the way."
"Thanks, now do the cleavage a favor and go back to your seat."
To my surprise he did. There were two UC Berkeley freshman girls sitting across from me. Both of them sat there with their jaws hanging open.
"Damn foreigners they can at least learn English..." he kept on. I turned and looked at him.
"When's the last time you lived in a new country and tried to learn any language but English?" I snapped.
"I was born in Osaka!" He snaps back.
"Ohiogozaimas. I lived in Yokohama. How much Japanese do you know?"
He shut up, again. No one on the bus said a word. The Elderly Eritrean man kept patting my arm.
About 10 minutes later, and one stop before my own stop, he looked at me and said. "This is my stop, can I get up now?" His tone was one of a student asking to leave the classroom, there was no antagonism, no sarcasm, he was actually asking my permission.
I looked at him and said "Of course you can and do yourself a favor, be nicer to people and you'll find you have a nicer weekend because of it."
He stopped and offered me his hand before he got off. "I'm Eddie." he said.
I gave him my name and again told him to have a better weekend.
As soon as the door closed the entire bus gave a collective gasp.
"Oh My God!" One of the Berkeley girls shrieked. "I thought he was going to smash you and you gave him that...that...TEACHERS look! I would have sat down."
I laughed. "He's a regular, I've run into him on this bus before. He's always annoying and full of himself and sometimes...I just get tired of it."
The other girl said "I couldnt' believe he made that comment about your cleavage, you handled it really well."
I shrugged and smiled. "Well, I am dressed for a party--I think he thought I'd be distracted or offended, oh well."
The girls, and I and one other woman near by got off at the same stop. Everyone called me by name and thanked me and said good bye and we all went our separate ways.
I don't know what gets into me, but it was an interesting altercation.
He sits down a few seats behind me. Two stops later an elderly man from Eritrea gets on the bus. I notice, as he comes up the steps he's waving across the bus driver to someone who is rushing across Telegraph against the light to catch the bus. The driver sees her too and waits. Now this man is, by my guess, in his 70s at least. He's getting his wallet, and the fare. The youngish woman (maybe 30) gets on and he greets her quickly and pays both fares.
While this is going on, our previous joker is saying things like "Sit down so this bus can go." "Get behind that yellow line!" "Fucking Foreigners." "...don't have the respect to speak our language but want to live in our country..." The elderly man sat beside me and the woman sat on the other side of him. Our raver kept going and getting more agitated. Several people on the bus were irritated with him already but no one was making eye contact or saying anything to him. He's black, angry, outspoken, ignorant and well over six feet tall. Finally he lurches to his feet and bears down on the couple sitting next to me.
I never really know just what insanity it is that propels me at these moments. Even in 5" heeled 'fuck-me' maryjanes, I'm short, but I got up and blocked him. Stared him down and said;
"You are one to talk, the bus driver had to make YOU go sit down. Now you be nicer to people and sit down and shut up."
He glared at me as if he could vaporize me in a glance. My sunglasses, which had slid half way down my nose at that point, allowed me to glare right back at him over the rims. I didn't move and I didn't flinch. I'm sure it was only seconds but it felt like minutes.
"Nice cleavage by the way."
"Thanks, now do the cleavage a favor and go back to your seat."
To my surprise he did. There were two UC Berkeley freshman girls sitting across from me. Both of them sat there with their jaws hanging open.
"Damn foreigners they can at least learn English..." he kept on. I turned and looked at him.
"When's the last time you lived in a new country and tried to learn any language but English?" I snapped.
"I was born in Osaka!" He snaps back.
"Ohiogozaimas. I lived in Yokohama. How much Japanese do you know?"
He shut up, again. No one on the bus said a word. The Elderly Eritrean man kept patting my arm.
About 10 minutes later, and one stop before my own stop, he looked at me and said. "This is my stop, can I get up now?" His tone was one of a student asking to leave the classroom, there was no antagonism, no sarcasm, he was actually asking my permission.
I looked at him and said "Of course you can and do yourself a favor, be nicer to people and you'll find you have a nicer weekend because of it."
He stopped and offered me his hand before he got off. "I'm Eddie." he said.
I gave him my name and again told him to have a better weekend.
As soon as the door closed the entire bus gave a collective gasp.
"Oh My God!" One of the Berkeley girls shrieked. "I thought he was going to smash you and you gave him that...that...TEACHERS look! I would have sat down."
I laughed. "He's a regular, I've run into him on this bus before. He's always annoying and full of himself and sometimes...I just get tired of it."
The other girl said "I couldnt' believe he made that comment about your cleavage, you handled it really well."
I shrugged and smiled. "Well, I am dressed for a party--I think he thought I'd be distracted or offended, oh well."
The girls, and I and one other woman near by got off at the same stop. Everyone called me by name and thanked me and said good bye and we all went our separate ways.
I don't know what gets into me, but it was an interesting altercation.
