The Wheels on the Bus

I've started riding the bus at a new, somewhat earlier time. It is terrific. This morning I sat on the bus and thought about how much I was enjoying the sound of the wheels.

All because the chattering old guy was not on this bus.

This retired (I assume) man rides the bus at the same time each morning, and talks for the entire trip. Usually he is talking to the driver, and less frequently to a fellow passenger. If he's hard put for conversation, he will bug the nannies and their charges. I know his name, the names of his kids, and, for a while, until I forgot, I knew his address. (I entertained myself by imagining I would have a tee-shirt printed up and sent to his house, reading "I'm the reason iPods were invented!") He regales the driver with trivia about the city and his neighbors, sometimes lingering at the bus steps before he gets off to finish his monologue.

Maybe there are good reasons he's so chatty. I don't know. But I just want a nice, quiet bus ride in the morning. The sound of those wheels is a beautiful thing, and it made me happy all day.