On the bus in Philadelphia, I usually sit in the side-facing seats reserved for seniors and people with disabilities. That means I am facing other people who fit the category, plus the usual young people who sit there because it doesn’t occur to them not to. Sometimes I get one of the young people to move if I’m particularly achy. Mostly I don’t bother.
The other day, the big woman across from me had her folded-up rollator propped against her belly. She had on bike shorts and a T shirt, and was wearing square gold-framed amber sunglasses. She said to the air or to her earbuds, “I’m going to be sixty.” Then she saw me listening, and she kept an eye on me after that.
I’m thirteen years older than her and I don’t have a rollator. My mom had one of those. They are much nicer than walkers; they have a little platform you can sit on, and hand brakes so you can keep them from getting away from you. You can fold them up, too. I acquired a bad shoulder problem and some back issues from putting Mom’s rollator in my trunk when I took her out shopping, and my problems got worse when she switched to a folding wheelchair.
Yesterday, a different woman sitting across from me didn’t have a rollator, but she too was wearing shorts and a T shirt. Her large pale knees had long white scars on them. I guess she had had knee surgery. I tried not to look too hard.
Half the fun of the bus for me is looking at people.
When I was on the bus in New York City last week, I was thinking about all the people who say they’re afraid of taking public transportation. I looked around at the other passengers, and tried to decide who was going to attack those fearful people: The nanny with the stroller? The elderly lady in a cardigan, with jewelry, her hands on her purse? The tall skinny old man who holds on to everything as he makes his way down the aisle? The small tourist family speaking a different language? It’s dangerous out there, for sure. Someone might ask you for directions to the museum. Someone might look at you. Someone might realize you need help walking. You don’t know what will happen.