Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Interesting people on the bus
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
February 2, 2011 at 2:48 am #597819
KimberleyParticipantApparently I’ve been getting on the crazy bus lately. The other week I was on a bus to West Seattle and this over-intoxicated couple got on (the last stop before the viaduct) and the male started cussing and swearing and making a huge deal out of not knowing where they’re going, wondering where the bus will take them, etc. I’m talking over the top. The entire away along the viaduct and across the bridge they had no idea where they were going (the woman thought they were heading to Seatac) and at one point the man commented that he had lived in Seattle all his life but didn’t know where they were going.
This evening, on the bus, there was a man (once again, on the wrong bus, freaked out that he was going to West Seattle). The guy reeked of heavy b.o. (so much so that the guy next to him made a comment to the very nicely dressed lady on his other side and asked if that was her b.o. – jokingly). The entire ride back to West Seattle, the guy was laughing hysterically at himself, and then constantly rubbing his chest. It was weird, and all I could do not to burst out laughing.
Am I the only one riding the crazy bus lately?
February 2, 2011 at 3:24 am #715902
JanSParticipantI sure do miss a lot working at home :-
February 2, 2011 at 3:40 am #715903
redblackParticipantkimberley: i, too, am a kook magnet. and we here in the PNW have some of the best homeless/freaks in the country. trust me. and, amazingly, they all manage to find whatever bus/route i’m on and attempt to exploit my gentle nature.
regarding the couple looking for the airport: they actually were on the second-fastest public transit route to seatac when you factor in link light rail.
regarding the pungent rider: i’m not sure if the passive/aggressive riders are better or worse.
February 2, 2011 at 3:52 am #715904
KenParticipantI stay off the bus as much as possible. Even the loud cell phone conversations of what are probably normal human commuters makes me want to slit my throat nearly every time. I really don’t want to be reminded of the cosmic level of stupid crap I miss by not watching TV. I don’t want to know the details of your relationship or lack thereof and the repeated, serial display of ignorance of biblical proportions (in subjects a 4th grader should know) actually seems to lower my IQ for hours afterward.
The question I keep asking myself is …
These people have jobs? Is stupid/venal/ignorant/demented a requirement?
I am sure plenty of smart well adjusted humans also ride the bus, I see them grinding their teeth and turning up the volume on their earbuds.
February 2, 2011 at 3:56 am #715905
SarahScootParticipantAgreed with redblack, but I’m fully decided that the rider(s) making fun of the man’s b.o. were worse than the man himself. It’s just rude to comment on a person’s hygiene in front of him, and it sounds like the “crazy” man is not of entirely sound mind.
That said, I’m all for commenting on “normal” drunk crazies, people who speak loudly on their cell phones (especially about personal issues), people who think their bag is deserving of its own seat in an otherwise SRO bus (then act put out when asked to move it for a person), or many other crazy bus behaviors. I just draw the line at making fun of someone for something beyond their control, such as mental health or income.
February 2, 2011 at 4:00 am #715906
SarahScootParticipantOh, and my favorite overheard-on-a-bus TMI loud cell phone conversation is still the woman discussing at length her painful ear infection, the “ooze,” the attempted treatments, and the side effects of said treatments (including more “ooze,” and “crust”). Everyone within earshot (so, everyone on the bus, since she was SO LOUD) looked nauseated.
February 2, 2011 at 4:04 am #715907
redblackParticipantlol, ken.
i see those same people – walking off of curbs and into light poles as they tex’, download, email, and deejay while trying to get to work.
darwin is coming. look busy.
the smart ones – call us survivalists, if you will – keep our eyes open and only pretend to be preoccupied.
but recently i’ve been thinking that someone could make a lot of money by placing ads on sidewalk surfaces – or the floors of buses, for that matter – since so many people are looking down while they pay attention to their electronic geegaws when they walk and ride.
February 2, 2011 at 4:09 am #715908
redblackParticipantss: but would you address your comments to the person whose behavior offends you?
for the record, i’ve found that polite requests for civility are pretty effective.
(most of the time.)
February 2, 2011 at 4:14 am #715909
KimberleyParticipantTo clarify: trashed couple, apparently weren’t going to Seatac, but had hoped to go further down 2nd Ave (it was the 37 bus) and thought West Seattle was Seatac.
The person who commented on the crazy man with the b.o. did something after he had departed the bus and the doors had closed.
The obnoxious phone calls on the bus are annoying, and quite frankly rude. Anything above and beyond “I’m on my way home/do I need to pick anything up for dinner” are usually way more than I care to know about the people I’m riding the bus with. Yes, I’ll be cycling once the warm weather hits.
February 2, 2011 at 4:17 am #715910
SarahScootParticipantRB, honestly I have a damn high tolerance for bad bus behavior, so I usually don’t feel the need to politely request anyone change their behavior. I am regularly on the bus with people who don’t smell so great, and I just deal. I definitely don’t make snide/”clever” comments to other passengers.
I only ask another passenger to alter his/her behavior if it is directly affecting me. In the rare case I’ve felt threatened, I’ve moved and informed the driver of the situation.
In most other cases, I just sit back and enjoy the people-watching; bus stories are fun to exchange with coworkers, and random out-of-context quotes from the bus are fun as Facebook status updates. :-)
February 2, 2011 at 4:22 am #715911
redblackParticipantwell, uhh, if you follow it south, second avenue does go to seatac.
okay, maybe not.
but first avenue does.
okay, maybe not.
but it does go pretty close.
and, like the airport, west seattle is south of downtown seattle.
so they weren’t that far off, cosmically speaking.
February 2, 2011 at 4:24 am #715912
redblackParticipantss: i just give them lots of money and they generally leave me alone.
it’s a lose/win situation.
February 2, 2011 at 4:26 am #715913
SarahScootParticipantSweet solution, RB.
February 2, 2011 at 4:44 am #715914
KimberleyParticipantBy further down 2nd avenue, pioneer square.
February 2, 2011 at 5:23 am #715915
DPMemberrb said:
i, too, am a kook magnet
Excuse me, but are you calling everyone who’s attracted to you a kook?
February 2, 2011 at 6:40 am #715916
redblackParticipantDP: in the immortal and perfunctory words of our esteemed vice president, joe biden,
“yes.”
February 2, 2011 at 7:01 am #715917
HunterGParticipantOh wow, I forget he is our VP sometimes. The guy has some great teeth doesn’t he?
February 2, 2011 at 7:35 am #715918
KBearParticipantYes.
February 3, 2011 at 5:24 pm #715919
ZenguyParticipantI like the term “freak flypaper”. I love riding the bus and being downtown Seattle, I figure it is free entertainment. The guy playing matador with cars using his coat, the lady in Starbucks (in the financial district) wearing a baby blanket on her head, under a Ford baseball cap and mini fake pearls swagged around the brim…love it and miss it!
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.