I rode a packed bus home tonight. No one was shoving or pushing but the isle was filled with people standing and the bus driver had to tell people at each stop that there wasn’t any more room. But the best part of the trip was a young man in the front seat. He summed up the entire trip when he yelled out, “WooWee! Ridin’ the bus is like goin’ to the circus!”
What he wasn’t fully aware of is that HE was the circus. In 15 minutes on a crowded bus, I learned that he is on work release for his first felony. He can’t get a job but he did share that during his recent 9-hour pass he was able to “get him some”. I think he was talking about ice cream but I am not sure.
I also gleaned that he’s not fully aware of Indiana’s political scene. At one point in his rant he shouted that Mayor Greg Ballard hadn’t done anything for the city. In his educated and high-decibel opinion, he announced that this Mayor was worthless. Now he did report that Mitch Daniels was a great Mayor and we should have kept him. (NOTE: For those readers outside the state of Indiana, Daniels was never mayor. He is the current governor of the state.)
Understand, I was in the back of the bus. It wasn’t like I decided to sit by this gentleman and engage him in conversation. His words carried through the mass of commuters to anyone unfortunate enough not to have headphones in their ears.
He was right about one thing: Riding the bus is like going to the circus. You get to meet some real clowns.
