A repeat from the winter of 2011, while my wrists heal. Frankly, I'm bored, not writing; and while my notebook is full of ideas, I cannot yet write them...
So I’ve been listening in on the bus again.
It’s an art. Don’t let the iPod fool you. Sure it looks like I’m listening to music; but if it looks like you’re having an interesting time of it, I just may turn it off and eavesdrop…
Hey! It’s a public space, for cryin’ out loud! If you don’t want everyone to hear about how that stain got on your living room couch, I suggest you lower your voice.
Which brings me to yesterday morning. Come sit by me on the bus, where we keep our eyes ahead and our ears on scan…
It’s 6:24 a.m. Still dark. The bus is occupied by heavy-lidded, blanket-coated folk who want nothing more than to be back in their beds.
That’s how it normally is. Except for when it’s summer, of course, when the bus is occupied by heavy-lidded, cotton-clad folk who want nothing more than to be at the beach.
But back to our bus. And it is our bus, iddin it; and look how cozy we are! So cozy, in fact, that some of us have forgotten that we’re not alone…
The man directly in front of me, a young, skinny man in a heavy jacket and a Minnesota Viking hat is speaking loudly enough that I can hear him over my Earbuds.
You’re gonna be that loud? It’s on, fella!
I reach into my bag and turn my iPod off.
“Dryer sheets? Yeah – what? No, dryer sheets!”
Brief pause.
“What? You know they are! What are you doing? What do you mean, where do you put them? You put them in the dryer!”
Brief pause whilst the Vikings fan briefly loses it.
“Because they’re dryer sheets! They go in the dryer! That’s why they call them “dryer sheets”! Where do you think you’d put them, woman?!”
That was enough for me, and I went back to listening to The Black Keys.
Me, I’m torn between concern for someone who has called someone during their commute to ask about the dryer sheets, and pity for someone who has been called, during their commute, to explain where the dryer sheet goes.
I may have to give up listening in for a bit. It’s gonna give me wrinkles.
So I’ve been listening in on the bus again.
It’s an art. Don’t let the iPod fool you. Sure it looks like I’m listening to music; but if it looks like you’re having an interesting time of it, I just may turn it off and eavesdrop…
Hey! It’s a public space, for cryin’ out loud! If you don’t want everyone to hear about how that stain got on your living room couch, I suggest you lower your voice.
Which brings me to yesterday morning. Come sit by me on the bus, where we keep our eyes ahead and our ears on scan…
It’s 6:24 a.m. Still dark. The bus is occupied by heavy-lidded, blanket-coated folk who want nothing more than to be back in their beds.
That’s how it normally is. Except for when it’s summer, of course, when the bus is occupied by heavy-lidded, cotton-clad folk who want nothing more than to be at the beach.
But back to our bus. And it is our bus, iddin it; and look how cozy we are! So cozy, in fact, that some of us have forgotten that we’re not alone…
The man directly in front of me, a young, skinny man in a heavy jacket and a Minnesota Viking hat is speaking loudly enough that I can hear him over my Earbuds.
You’re gonna be that loud? It’s on, fella!
I reach into my bag and turn my iPod off.
“Dryer sheets? Yeah – what? No, dryer sheets!”
Brief pause.
“What? You know they are! What are you doing? What do you mean, where do you put them? You put them in the dryer!”
Brief pause whilst the Vikings fan briefly loses it.
“Because they’re dryer sheets! They go in the dryer! That’s why they call them “dryer sheets”! Where do you think you’d put them, woman?!”
That was enough for me, and I went back to listening to The Black Keys.
Me, I’m torn between concern for someone who has called someone during their commute to ask about the dryer sheets, and pity for someone who has been called, during their commute, to explain where the dryer sheet goes.
I may have to give up listening in for a bit. It’s gonna give me wrinkles.
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19 comments:
He probably wanted to tell whoever was on the other side of the phone conversation where they should really stick those dryer sheets.
He may just have to go back to doing his own laundry. It's not worth the aggravation of training in a new slave.
Your bus stories are my favorite and always put a smile on my face! (I've only ridden a public bus here in Seattle once, and I only wish it was half as interesting as an experience as yours!)
No Kudus for a guy that actually knows where dryer sheets go?
BTW, Who dries clothes at 6:24 AM?
Oh, folks with wet clothes I spose. Never mind.
Oh Pearl ... sometimes you just sits and thinks and sometimes you just sits and heals.
love you miss you, C
Three words: voice recognition software.
And that call was from the dry-fold place.
I recently listened to someone arranging a contract kill on the bus. But only so I could check the contract wasn't on me. I lucked out.
Too cute... I totally do not get when people carry on loud conversations on the phone while on a bus... that is what texting is for... however; how entertaining would that be for you... lol
OY!
ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° >
Hari OM
Oh for heaven's sake, sore wrists AND wrinkles - that will never do. I love how you can make something mundane seem so extraordinary! YAM xx
At the risk of attributing more brains to the caller than is wise to do, I would suggest that if he/she was thinking of "dryer" as "more dry" rather than "sheet for the dryer", there was a reasonable excuse for that kind of call. I wonder what the chances of that would be?
Pearl, I often wake up full of unusual questions. Does your morning bus have an 800 number?
Personally, I'd be thrilled with ANYONE doing my laundry at 6 in the morning... with or without dryer sheets.
New post or old post - either way, pure gold!
Get better soon, sweetie.
Thank you for commenting on my blog! So you ride the bus quite a bit? I just love listening to little bits of conversation as people pass by me. What has happened to your wrists, did you have carpal tunnel surgery? What a coincidence, the chest wall inflammation, I had it the first time in my 20's as well!
I've seen dryer sheets on the supermarket shelves, I've even picked up the box and read the instructions. Which are very clear. VERY. CLEAR. How can anyone not understand them?
Some people over think and some don't think. You ride among them.
Hahaha! Yes, that's one conversation you could have missed and your life would have gone on quite well without it. :D
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