madermouse's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- June 6th, 2001 - The Bus Most of my experiences on the bus were awkward. I can't describe the feeling when I get on the bus and there are no available seats so I have to stand in the isle. Being a large person only magnifies, with a bright hot intensity, that I'm going to get in someone's personal space. I usually had my backpack strapped to me, bulging with food of course, which only compounded my size. I'd scan for any empty space where I could quietly exist for a short bus ride. Its like, square peg, round hole. I'd lumber on the bus and quickly analyze who I could stand near without sticking my ass or armpit in their face. Then the bus would lurch forward and my body was thrust in motion, leaving no more room for contemplation. Crap! Three steps and I'd inch toward a smallish older woman, who seemed to cringe when I got near her. The bus barreled down the road and I'd clutch the leather handles, my hips & butt swaying dangerously close to her face. She shifted uneasily in her seat and looked away in disgust. I'm obviously intruding. Great, only 30 more glorifying minutes of this. Let me please say this though, I do feel bad for the little people. I mean when a fat person gets on a crowded bus and is forced to share a seat - it's the little people we gravitate towards. The science behind this action is as follows: One large thing plus one small thing equals a medium thing. And the thing here I'm talking about his the amount of personal space surrounding someone on a crowded bus. Trust me, don't ever try to sit with a person as fat, or fatter than yourself. Otherwise you'll find yourself straddling the seat with your butt crack trying not to fall off when the bus takes a right turn. Its happened to me, it's not fun. I was riding the bus to work a few days ago, when the strangest thing happened. I stepped up, flashed my bus pass, and scanned for seats. There were a few single seats here & there - but none that I could sit in without totally spilling over onto the people beside me. I opted to stand. Suddenly I felt this tug on my dress. I looked down to find a frail 80+ year old woman saying to me, "Honey, do you want to sit in my seat?" I was momentarily too stunned to respond. The bus doors closed and began to move forward. The little old lady began to stand up and gather her things. I said, "Omigosh, NO! I don't need your seat, thank you. I'm getting off right across the bridge." I smiled. But inside I'm screaming "SIT DOWN GRAMS - YOU'RE GOING TO FALL AND BREAK A HIP!" The strange thing is - this isn't the first time that has happened to me. Its bizarre. A couple of weeks ago, some older gentleman offered me his seat too. In retrospect, perhaps he was just raised to be polite..But each time I'm completely blown away that these older, frailer people are offering me their seats so they can stand on a crowded bus in rush hour traffic. Has anything like this ever happened to you, because I'm totally at a loss here. The only thing I can figure is they see me as disabled, because of my size?? Its either that or they are scared to death of being crushed by a falling 311lb woman. Frankly, I don't know which I'd rather believe. 11:57 a.m. - August 05, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
||||||
|
||||||