Bus Creeps
I ride the bus to the metro every day. And because, as my mother likes to say, I am a creature of habit (or that I like my fur-lined rut, whichever you prefer), I ride the bus the same time every day.
During my waits, there is a cast of characters I see from time to time. There's the quirky lady who always makes me laugh with her outfits (today, on a 25-degree morning, it was a short skirt and cowboy boots); there's the young, professional woman who always has good reading material; the boisterous older black woman who always wants to chat; or the cute 20-something guy I can never seem to make eye contact with.
I don't see these folks every day. Sometimes no one waits with me at the stop. Sometimes it's a gaggle of people. But I run into this handful of folks every once in a while. But of all people I share a commute with, one stands out above the rest--creepy middle-aged man.
Creepy middle-aged man is the guy you always avoid at parties: his gaze lingers just a little too long in the innappropriate places; he stands just a little too close; his hair just a little too greasy. Whenever I see him at the stop, I always scoot as far away as possible. He was there this morning, but as I was engrossed in the paper and the baseball saga that is unfolding in our lovely city, I didn't notice him.
Until I got on the bus.
When I board the bus, there are usually only a handful of people there. Plenty of open seats, particularly in the back of the bus. Today, there were two empty double seats that faced forward; the rest had one person in them. I took one of the empty doubles. The cute boy took the other empty double. The other women all opted for seats in the front. And then I noticed Creepy Middle-Aged Man step onto the bus.
At first, he walked to the back of the bus. I dug out my paper to get back to reading. Then, suddenly, from nowhere, Creepy Middle-Aged Man sat down in the other half of my seat.
Does anyone else think it's weird that someone you don't know would sit with you instead of in any of the 50 other vacant seats on the bus? The frightening thing is that he's done this before. Once he even did it when there were other vacant double seats on the bus.
Typically, when I see Creepy Middle-Aged Man at the stop with me, I'll claim a seat and then plop my bag down next to me just so he won't be tempted to take the seat. But since I didn't see him, I wasn't prepared.
He doesn't try to talk to me, but still... there's just something extremely uncomfortable in the whole situation. It's not that I mind sitting next to someone, it's that I don't want to sit next to someone who JUST GOT ON WITH ME and I DON'T KNOW.
I am I just crazy, or does anyone else think this is weird???
During my waits, there is a cast of characters I see from time to time. There's the quirky lady who always makes me laugh with her outfits (today, on a 25-degree morning, it was a short skirt and cowboy boots); there's the young, professional woman who always has good reading material; the boisterous older black woman who always wants to chat; or the cute 20-something guy I can never seem to make eye contact with.
I don't see these folks every day. Sometimes no one waits with me at the stop. Sometimes it's a gaggle of people. But I run into this handful of folks every once in a while. But of all people I share a commute with, one stands out above the rest--creepy middle-aged man.
Creepy middle-aged man is the guy you always avoid at parties: his gaze lingers just a little too long in the innappropriate places; he stands just a little too close; his hair just a little too greasy. Whenever I see him at the stop, I always scoot as far away as possible. He was there this morning, but as I was engrossed in the paper and the baseball saga that is unfolding in our lovely city, I didn't notice him.
Until I got on the bus.
When I board the bus, there are usually only a handful of people there. Plenty of open seats, particularly in the back of the bus. Today, there were two empty double seats that faced forward; the rest had one person in them. I took one of the empty doubles. The cute boy took the other empty double. The other women all opted for seats in the front. And then I noticed Creepy Middle-Aged Man step onto the bus.
At first, he walked to the back of the bus. I dug out my paper to get back to reading. Then, suddenly, from nowhere, Creepy Middle-Aged Man sat down in the other half of my seat.
Does anyone else think it's weird that someone you don't know would sit with you instead of in any of the 50 other vacant seats on the bus? The frightening thing is that he's done this before. Once he even did it when there were other vacant double seats on the bus.
Typically, when I see Creepy Middle-Aged Man at the stop with me, I'll claim a seat and then plop my bag down next to me just so he won't be tempted to take the seat. But since I didn't see him, I wasn't prepared.
He doesn't try to talk to me, but still... there's just something extremely uncomfortable in the whole situation. It's not that I mind sitting next to someone, it's that I don't want to sit next to someone who JUST GOT ON WITH ME and I DON'T KNOW.
I am I just crazy, or does anyone else think this is weird???
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