Oh dear! I have been trying to avoid the bus since that gang of twenty-year-olds who did not have face masks on. But yesterday, I had to go a long way and I had to carry a lot. I walked down the hill and onwards towards my destination, which took me around 90 minutes. But on the way home….I was sort of questioning whether walking home would not make me exhausted before another hectic day of work.
My feet were burning, my ankles were aching, my calves were throbbing, and suddenly, an empty bus pulled up. So….I gave in to temptation and boarded the bus.
But you won’t believe what happened at the next bus stop. A bunch of passengers jumped on, all wearing facemasks except one. This young chap sat there, yabbering away on his phone, no face-mask and no idea how inappropriate every aspect of his behaviour was it would seem.
What came out of his mouth was awful. I have no idea who he was talking to….but if any body spoke to me that way – it would be the last time they would ever speak to me. His choice of bad language, the threats he made towards this person, the boasts he made about himself, added to which he had a rather sour opinion of social services involvement in his family life.
Well, if he behaves that way on a public bus, I dread to think of the standard of his behaviour behind closed doors.
But the putrid icing on top of the revolting cake, was his cough. He coughed and spluttered (of course no face mask to keep his coughs inward), sniffled and snorted, croaked and choked and coughed again and again.
I opened all the windows within reach. I sang as loud as I could inside my head to drown out the disgusting flow of effluent coming out of his mouth, and when the bus finally pulled over near to my nest, I was so relieved to escape.
I feel more resolute now. I am supposed to be travelling to see my family and Jack’s family next week (although, in separate visits, with small numbers now that the engagement party is off) – I don’t think I want to go near a bus before then. It just seems too risky. I don’t want fools without masks coughing and spluttering anywhere near me, and….for that matter, I think that if someone uses that kind of bad language in public (or anywhere really) a trapdoor should open and they should be off the bus. They should be the one walking home.
Buses, and public places in general should be for those who know how to show consideration to others.
Caramel 