Good morning readers! I hope that the morning has found you well and that you are enjoying what the world has to offer. Today I'm actually wondering about a situation that happened to me last night on the bus ride home and if I was justified in what I did. Of course I will explain it all for you to decide so let's get started.
I picked up an extra shift to help out at work on Saturday night. It was supposed to be a four to 12 shift but because I rely on transit and the routes end early on the weekends, my employer is kind enough to schedule me in 15 minutes early so I can leave on time to catch the bus. So I clocked out and walked to the bus stop to wait for my bus; the route 80.
When it pulled up, on time I might add, I could see that it was full of people; which is fine. Before my foot hit the first step I could smell the repugnant odor of alcohol flowing out the door. The next sense to be offended was my poor ears which were greeted by the excessively loud conversation that is had between drunks. I know this all too well after working as a bouncer, waiter and bartender for a few years off an on. I know drunks and mostly they're harmless. These were the kind on the bus; annoying and obnoxious but otherwise harmless.
As I made my way onto the bus there were very few seats and I found myself sitting at the very back among a group out celebrating some young lady's 21st birthday. If you happen to be a follower of mine on Twitter you may have caught some of my Tweets from the ride home. The young fellow I found myself sitting next to, I was in the corner and he the middle at the very back, immediately struck up what I'm sure he thought was a thrilling conversation. Midway through, and without missing a beat, he leans forward and gives a wedgie to his friend sitting directly in front of us who is keeled over, semi-comatose trying his best to not get sick on the bus I'm sure. The good friend does this two more times before the girlfriend gives him a swipe.
This same young fellow proceeds to ask me to switch seats with him; he really needs to pee and he's going to do it in the corner sitting down while the bus is in motion. Well I will tell you, I didn't quite know what to do so I did the first thing that came to mind: I switched seats. Now this is where I start to feel a little uncomfortable. One drunk to my left deciding if he's going to piss on the bus; another very quiet drunk to my left who has begun rolling up his sleeves (it's cold out people!); an irritated and now moving extremely drunk in front of me; and surrounded at every other angle by more drunk people with these other ones.
So let's take a step back to me working in a bar. I have seen it all; and if I haven't someone I worked with has told me about their experience. When people are drunk they are not themselves and they behave in an entirely different manner than they otherwise would. Sometimes they exhibit behaviors you couldn't even imagine. One such oddity I've seen countless times is the ability of a drunk in a near comatose state to suddenly snap back to reality, still very much drunk but very much awake. Now this does not always result in something bad however if the last thing that person remembers is being annoyed or angry that is how they snap back and generally tend to seek out some form of justice; usually a verbal assault which can be followed by a physical assault.
I wasn't afraid of getting assaulted; I was sober and can carry myself quite well despite my stature. My concern was that I was alone and they were all together. So I took out my phone and I turned the camera on video, I didn't press record, but I had it ready sitting there. I had it ready in case the fine young gentleman in front of me now, where once sat his companion who was pulling up his underwear while he was ill, and my concern was that now that he was moving he would suddenly remember and it would be me he would find sitting there. Again, I was prepared but having no one to eye witness a potential confrontation on my behalf, I had my phone ready to be my eye-witness.
One of the lesser drunk ladies sitting to my forward right leaned over and began telling me to stop recording and that I shouldn't be doing that. I explained to her that I wasn't recording to which she claimed to have watched me. Now I am an honest man so it is of particular importance to me that people know this. I went so far as to even let her browse my phones Gallery to prove it which satisfied her. She went one step further to explain and say that her partner next to her had mentioned it and she had defended me at first but then questioned it herself. For the record I wasn't waving my phone around or anything; I just opened it up and held it in my hand. They were watching me I guess.
So the question is: was it the right thing to have my phone ready in case? I think it was. The fact that there were at least three people drinking quite heavily from their pop bottles (that lightly colored Pepsi must be a new flavor?) showed a complete lack of interest on behalf of the driver. Proven more so after one bottle went rolling down the aisle and someone else picked it up and yes, drank from it not knowing where it came from. As an aside, coma gentleman was kind of pushed off the bus by his girlfriend somewhere on Robie street so nothing did happen.
Thanks for reading and curious about your thoughts. Love each other.
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