The Unforgiving Mother of a Morning,

OR How I Learned to Never Judge Anyone Getting On A Bus

-------------------

After paying $2 for a rush-hour ride on the Twin Cities Metro Transit, I got off my first bus to catch the second bus on the way to work. As I step off the No. 65, I see the No. 21 speeding by in the opposite direction.

"No way," I say (or something similar to it) calmly (relatively speaking), and I start to book it. I'm not paying $2 for a trip that gets me halfway to work.

I ran, folks, for FIVE blocks (and not the short ones), and then the bus was in my sights. It was stopped at a red light. And yes, you guessed it, the minute I was at the back of the vehicle, the light turned green. After this massive marathon, I wasn't about to give up my rights to that ride.

I stopped the bus in mid-intersection. From the amount of screaming that later occurred, I almost wish the bus driver decided not to stop. But I wasn't so lucky.

"You are lucky, son, because I'm NEVER gonna do that again."

I nodded my head, mostly too tired to speak, and fumbled for my ticket.

"I'm sorry," I panted.

"'Sorry' won't help you when you're dead."

Damn! A little bit melodramatic, perhaps? But the people in the front seat were backing her up, heaping moral insults on me, asking themselves - aloud - why such dumbass kids exist in this world. Plenty of time to think it over, I had an ample assortment of ideas to say back to this group of lecturers. But I didn't. I mumbled, "I feel bad enough already, okay?" and went to the back of the bus.

In my mind, I was angry enough that I had JUST RAN FIVE BLOCKS and barely missed the bus in the first place. As they were vocally molesting me, I am sure my ears flamed, my face became red hot, and I started to fume. It was seconds before a flat-out tantrum would take place.

And, then I remembered: Weren't there times when I was sitting on the bus when someone got in, fuming, and began to yell at nobody in particular? Or perhaps a young kid had caught up with the bus and got the same talking-to that I just received? I am sure I was tempted to do the same presumptuous moral bashing that happened today.

But, I guess you never know what someone is dealing with. They may have just RAN FIVE BLOCKS in nice shoes. Maybe.