Oh just three bus anecdotes
1) An amiable gentleman who struck up a conversation with me exclaims, “You’s gonna be like, a specialized social worker? Hell I got ME a social worker for these wheels!” (He was wheelchair-bound)… Next gentleman adds, “Shoot, me too!”…. Abruptly-awake lady adds, “Yup, I’m with ya’ll. Sho ‘nuff gots me one. Lawdy she tough but kind.” And so on.
It was like everyone suddenly had their chance to scream, “I am a human being! Humans need help!” Which is excellent.
2) People everywhere are running off and on the bus in costumes and panting on a Sunday afternoon because they are doing an Amazing-Race-like competition through Columbus. An upper-class looking woman with a glittering red cape whispers in my ear, “Excuse me, do you have a tampon I could buy? You appear to be of the right demographic to use them.” Unfortunately, I could not make big bucks tampon-dealing that day and I resisted a brief impulse to lie that I was actually a man, for kicks.
3) A semi-scruffy older man named Bill narrates how he got two degrees from OSU without going to a football game so I am ok, and how he likes to help out writing for the homeless newspaper and on behalf of the disenfranchised. He explains to me about the homelessness plight in Columbus, invites me to his church, and subtly cautions me to not abuse others’ admiration of how I look or what I know for my benefit. (Shoot right into my soul, why dontcha?) Just as he is getting off the bus I notice, he only has one arm. But why is that even important enough to mention?
