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mmerriamEvery morning I commute by bus to St. Paul. Anyone who has ridden public transportation can tell you stories. I've posted some here over the years. I think I'll start posting them again.
Today, on the 94B Express from Minneapolis to St.Paul, I settled into a seat next to the window, folded my mobility cane, and relaxed in anticipation of the usually uneventful ride (we like uneventful rides, as opposed to the bus catching on fire, which happened a few years ago). One of the regular riders, a late-thirties woman who gets off one stop before me, sat down next to me. We nodded and exchanged quiet good mornings, then she pulled out her Kindle and I closed my eyes to get a light doze in on the bus (I've learned the art of dozing on the bus and not missing my stop) since I had a crummy night's sleep last night. I had already dozed on the 665 Express to Minneapolis.
I guess she had the same idea, because part way to St. Paul as the bus went into a curve, she slumped over onto my shoulder. I opened my eyes and found her obviously asleep (I could tell by the slight snore and utterly relaxed posture). I've had this happen before, but still.
So very quietly I say, "Miss? Miss?"
To which she snorts, rolls my direction, grabs my arm, and snuggles down closer to me. Not one to go about wantonly sleeping with strange women on buses, I reached out with one finger and gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder.
"Miss." I give a slightly harder tap. "Miss."
She jerks awake, eyes opened wide, startled. Realizing what has happened, she blushes, sits up straight and begins to nervously smooth her clothes. "Sorry," she mumbles.
"It's okay," I say. "Just, you know."
We ride in silence for a few minutes, then as she reaches across me to pull the cord to ask the driver to stop, she give me a small smile. "At least I didn't drool."
We both laugh softly, and she exits the bus.
Today, on the 94B Express from Minneapolis to St.Paul, I settled into a seat next to the window, folded my mobility cane, and relaxed in anticipation of the usually uneventful ride (we like uneventful rides, as opposed to the bus catching on fire, which happened a few years ago). One of the regular riders, a late-thirties woman who gets off one stop before me, sat down next to me. We nodded and exchanged quiet good mornings, then she pulled out her Kindle and I closed my eyes to get a light doze in on the bus (I've learned the art of dozing on the bus and not missing my stop) since I had a crummy night's sleep last night. I had already dozed on the 665 Express to Minneapolis.
I guess she had the same idea, because part way to St. Paul as the bus went into a curve, she slumped over onto my shoulder. I opened my eyes and found her obviously asleep (I could tell by the slight snore and utterly relaxed posture). I've had this happen before, but still.
So very quietly I say, "Miss? Miss?"
To which she snorts, rolls my direction, grabs my arm, and snuggles down closer to me. Not one to go about wantonly sleeping with strange women on buses, I reached out with one finger and gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder.
"Miss." I give a slightly harder tap. "Miss."
She jerks awake, eyes opened wide, startled. Realizing what has happened, she blushes, sits up straight and begins to nervously smooth her clothes. "Sorry," she mumbles.
"It's okay," I say. "Just, you know."
We ride in silence for a few minutes, then as she reaches across me to pull the cord to ask the driver to stop, she give me a small smile. "At least I didn't drool."
We both laugh softly, and she exits the bus.
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Date: 2012-05-31 09:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-31 09:47 pm (UTC)The Japanese are masters of sleeping on trains, I've seen them do it standing up even. But, are also rather skilled at not slumping much on their neighbors. They rarely sleep on buses though, likely because buses in this country are much less user friendly.