Bus Drama

If you think you know drama, you've not seen drama until you've witnessed bus drama. It isn't often, but something about the holidays brings out the best in everyone. I had the audacity to go to Rivergate Mall on Christmas Eve (I know, I was asking for it) and on the crowded bus back to town, the drama broke out. When the bus reached the Madison area, a man in a wheelchair with only one leg was on the opposite side of the street yelling for the bus to stop and wait until he crossed the street to board the bus. At first, the driver was reluctant to wait since there was another bus coming right behind him, and this bus was just barely on schedule on such a busy day. But when the passengers chided the driver for contemplating leaving a handicapped man, that the driver relented. Later, we all wished that he would have gone with his first thought to leave him for the next bus!

Well, the man entered the bus and from the moment he hopped from his wheelchair to a seat, his mouth never stopped. At first, he was giving the driver a hard time for considering leaving him. Imagine that! No gratitude for not leaving him, but threats to call the MTA office to report the driver for even contemplating leaving him, although he was on the other side of the street! Then because the other passengers were also tired of his constant negative and foul speech, one woman on her way to the Titans game told him to be quiet. Oh no! This started a verbal tirade between them that culminated in the driver stopping the bus and threatening to throw him off or call the police to take him off the bus. All of the passengers then agreed that his either being quiet or getting off would be best for everyone! We weren't even close to downtown, so he piped down because he didn't want to wheel it the rest of the way. Whew!

What was the most interesting to me is how everyone came together to defend this man when they thought that he was being treated unfairly, and then again agreed unanimously when he was being so offensive. There are lots of different people that ride the bus for various reasons, but one thing most people have in common is a sense of fairness, compassion and common decency. That was nice to see and what I appreciated from my bus ride that included a little holiday bus drama.