Bus Report #389
Sometimes you don't realise you miss someone until you see them again for the first time in maybe a year.
I was on a crowded 22 Fillmore on Monday evening. The man sitting next to me smelled awful and when he got out at Mission I was relieved. A new person came and sat down beside me, and it took me a minute but I realised I knew him.
He smiled at me, because he recognised me, too. I said hi, he said hi, and the rest of our 22 ride we just smiled at each other.
He used to get on my 22 in the mornings, at Oak Street, and was always dressed for work in construction or something. He was always polite and friendly and was one of those fellow passengers I was always glad to have sitting beside me.
At Geary we ran to catch a 38, but it was sardine-packed.
I shrugged my shoulders and said to him, "No way, I'll wait for the next one."
He nodded. "Yes," he said. "This one is no good."
He said, "It's been a long time I think, since we rode the bus together."
I agreed. "Yeah," I said. "A really long time." I took off my gloves and held out my hand. "I'm Rachel."
He shook my hand. He said his name, which sounded like a cross between a country in Europe and a model of a car. We'll call him Edel.
Edel said he was working all over the city, which is why he hadn't been on the bus in a while.
"Well, its nice to see you after so long," I told him.
We finally squeezed onto a very crowded 38. My bag was hanging in a woman's face so I tried to keep it pulled against me. She just smiled at me and told me it was no problem.
A few blocks later, Edel and I got seats.
"See?" I told him. "This bus is much better."
He agreed. We chatted a little about the bus, about meeting strangers who are friends, about his job and his brother.
I got out at my usual stop.
"Maybe I'll see you again," he said, seriously.
"Probably," I told him. "On the 22. See you later."
I was on a crowded 22 Fillmore on Monday evening. The man sitting next to me smelled awful and when he got out at Mission I was relieved. A new person came and sat down beside me, and it took me a minute but I realised I knew him.
He smiled at me, because he recognised me, too. I said hi, he said hi, and the rest of our 22 ride we just smiled at each other.
He used to get on my 22 in the mornings, at Oak Street, and was always dressed for work in construction or something. He was always polite and friendly and was one of those fellow passengers I was always glad to have sitting beside me.
At Geary we ran to catch a 38, but it was sardine-packed.
I shrugged my shoulders and said to him, "No way, I'll wait for the next one."
He nodded. "Yes," he said. "This one is no good."
He said, "It's been a long time I think, since we rode the bus together."
I agreed. "Yeah," I said. "A really long time." I took off my gloves and held out my hand. "I'm Rachel."
He shook my hand. He said his name, which sounded like a cross between a country in Europe and a model of a car. We'll call him Edel.
Edel said he was working all over the city, which is why he hadn't been on the bus in a while.
"Well, its nice to see you after so long," I told him.
We finally squeezed onto a very crowded 38. My bag was hanging in a woman's face so I tried to keep it pulled against me. She just smiled at me and told me it was no problem.
A few blocks later, Edel and I got seats.
"See?" I told him. "This bus is much better."
He agreed. We chatted a little about the bus, about meeting strangers who are friends, about his job and his brother.
I got out at my usual stop.
"Maybe I'll see you again," he said, seriously.
"Probably," I told him. "On the 22. See you later."
posted by Rachel at 3:03 PM
1 Comments:
Rachel, I wish I had a bus buddy (long lost or otherwise) too - it's nice to know that people are still making connections, not just yelling at each other or avoiding eye contact, of which I am often guilty. - Eugenia @ MuniDiaries.com
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