So I'm on the bus on my way to work this morning, the number 68 that goes up Beaufort St to the city and the bus is a bit fuller than usual. A couple not afraid of public displays of affection (the girl more than the guy) are sitting in front of me, and a lady firmly placed on the wrong side of middle aged is sitting in front of them.
A couple of stops before Perth College the bus pulls up and a couple of people get on and just as the driver is about to pull out and keep going two cuteish girls get his attention as they attempt to cross the busy road. One is brunette, with funky red glasses and cropped hair and the other is blonde with a low cut dress and the brunette waves to the driver and motions that they want to get on the bus, so the bus driver waits. Now the traffic is pretty thick going along Beaufort at this time and the two girls are having a spot of bother getting across. Of course I'm listening to my iPod so I don't hear it at first but at a gap between songs I can hear the lady on the wrong side of middle aged has piped up and is having a bit of a whinge about how bus drivers don't usually stop for anyone even if you're right near the bus stop waving frantically, which I guess is true. But you know what, who really cares? I mean come on, so what if the bus driver stops for a minute or two to let a couple of cuteish young ladies on the bus. So what if I lose two minutes out of my day that would otherwise be spent sitting at my desk staring at a computer screen. And sitting among what was a predominantly male population at the back of the bus, I'm pretty certain no one else really cared what this woman thought.
She's probably in the tea room at her work right now complaining to anyone who will listen (other women on the wrong side of middle aged) about a bus driver that actually waited two minutes to let a couple of cuteish girls on the bus. Outrageous!
Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against older people, I plan to be one some day. By all means, be outraged. By all means, write a letter to your local MP, but for God's sake, don't tell everyone on the bus about it.