On my bus ride home last night, I was unaware a man had been trying to get my attention because I was engrossed in a book.
Usually when an adult wants to address another adult, we use words and actions such as tapping the shoulder and saying, "Excuse me."
Instead this man suddenly yelled, "Ding!"
It startled me. When I glanced his way, he says, "I asked you three times if this bus goes to Newcastle."
I stared at him for a few seconds and answered, "I don't know. I get off in Courtice."
He shook his head, mumbled, "Stupid bitch," and stared out the window.
What the hell?
Do I look like the bus driver?
A tour guide?
So I got up and loudly asked the driver if the bus goes to Newcastle when I walked towards the doors in preparation to exit at my stop.
"Yes it does," he told me. So I asked him to hang on a sec and I went back over to Mr. Ding!
I leaned in over the seat and hollered at him that the, "BUS DRIVER SAYS YES"! in true Franks and Beans style a la Warren from the movie There's Something About Mary.
Then I got off the bus.
Hands down, one of the rudest encounters I've ever had.
10 comments:
People are just unbelievable!
I love this.
I can so picture this.
That's why I love this.
What an ass! Loved the response thought...not rude, but quite pointed.
I wanted to make a statement. To call me a stupid bitch because I didn't know the answer or because I didn't realize he was talking to me?
Not warranted for either answer.
I know how staff members who think I'm even more insane than they'd already assumed, all because I'm sitting here shaking with laughter as I imagine this scene unfolding! You go, Cindy!
Still laughing...
Apparently he's the stupid bitch. I mean, who gets on a bus not knowing if it will take you where you want to go? Duh.
Perhaps "Mr. Ding" was trying to play Jeopardy! "Does this bus go to Newcastle?" might be the word and he tried to key in first before the other contestants.
But I could be wrong as Cindy (no offence) doesn't really look at all like Alex Trebeck. I even printed out a picture and Sharpied a moustache to be sure!
Bonus: On the front of the bus, does the scroll sign include the word: "Newcastle"?
All 90s go to Courtice but then there is 90A, 90B and 90C. The letters mean nothing to me because all 90s go to Courtice. So I don't need to know anything after that.
If he had checked the board, looked at the sign on the bus, asked the driver when he got on, he would have had it all figured out.
In what universe is 'ding' the way you get a strangers attention. If one is not fully paying attention, one might think it's a noise coming from a device of some sort. I still don't understand people who board a bus they've never been on before or don't use that frequently and don't ask the driver where it goes, I think these are the same people who press the emergency strip on the trains when they miss their stop.
*ding* Lori's right!
Ask the driver a quick question of "does this bus go to major street and major street in Newcastle?"
Just make sure you know your route first and not depend on the driver. I've seen many a driver do mental calculus trying to figure out the best route to get a passenger to their destination while holding the bus at a stop while 60 other passengers waited twiddling their thumbs as if their lives were of no importance.
*Sigh*
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