by Cathy
I am extremely lucky that not only do I commute to work in my own car every day, but that my commute takes about 10 minutes each way. From time to time, however, when duty calls for me to head downtown, I join the throngs of public transportation commuters that pack buses and trains to the gills.
If you're not a "regular"rider, people will know. You won't have that fancy pass that requires a mere scan as you coolly walk by the bus driver; you won't be searching all those fancy contraptions to see which one takes your pre-loaded card, which takes money and which takes the scan pass; you'll be asking the driver about exits and specific stops; you're too uncomfortable to hold on to those monkey loop handles that sway you every which way with every start and stop; and you won't wander too far back into the depths of the bus or train car and prefer to grab the first seat you find.
This last one? Got me in trouble on the bus yesterday.
Ironically, as I was nestling myself between two elderly women on the sideways facing seats towards the front of the bus, it was the first time I casually wondered to myself: How do I always end up sitting between all the older people? That's okay. I'm happy to have a seat, even if it is with the cute, senior crowd.
Little did I know, since I was thoroughly engrossed in the latest Facebook status updates of my friends on my iPhone, that the bus was steadily getting more crowded. I could feel passengers standing around me but never bothered to look up.
"Excuse me, dear? Dear?" said a cute grey-haired lady about half my height, tapping me lightly on my shoulder. I look over to find her kindly peering through her bifocals. "These seats are for seniors here where you're sitting," she smiled at me. She then pointed a finger towards the standees and said, "I think there might be some seniors that want to sit down."
Jarred out of Facebook Fantasy, I was taken off guard.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "These seats are marked for seniors?"
"Yes," she said, still kindly. "If you'll look behind you, there's a sign."
Well who was I to argue to cute lil Grandma Gertrude?
I tapped an elderly gentleman on the arm (the arm holding his cane) and I offered him my seat. He waved it off with a swipe of his hand.
Grandma Gertrude was quick to intervene as to make her point. "Maybe this gentleman here...excuse me! Do you want to sit down?" She was on a mission now.
This guy wasn't as old as the one with the cane but he was holding a large cup of McDonald's piping hot coffee and a newspaper and couldn't really hold on to the railing, so I got up and let him sit down.
Then I quickly scanned for signs and sure enough, there it was posted on the wall of the bus, staring me in the face as it has done countless times before:
 | |
| And boy, was I requested to move... |
Of course I knew about that. But Grandma Gertrude made it sound like Priority Seating was engraved on the backside of the seat I was sitting in. And if I hadn't been so unaware and unsocial by being on social media sites, I would have been more cognizant of my surroundings and offered it up like I have several times before. It's just that, having it pointed out to me from a grandma, it felt like I was back in grammar school again, being reprimanded by my teachers about doing what's right. It felt like I was being scolded...like I should know better. I DO know better, but apparently, the temptations of social media got the best of me. Yes, I blame Facebook for the downfall of manners within society.
As I was pondering this, I felt another tap.
Now. What.
I turned to find another elderly lady, this one with a chic, short 'do. "That was very nice of you," she said softly. "Very nice of you."
"Of course!" I replied back, as if to even question my reasons for giving up my seat.
I should just hope that one day, some clueless, Facebooking young person will come up for air from under the tech gadget of the decade and acknowledge the fact that I am swaying sideways on those monkey loop handles, not just dipping but practically laying sideways at their feet - and offer me their priority seating. And if not, I'll be sure to get their attention in doing so.
