BUS STORY # 259 (Baggage)
She’s a little bitty thing. Hard to say how old -- could be in her 60’s or 70s.
She boards with a bag in each hand which she sets down in front of the bench seats across from the driver. Then she goes back out the front door.
When she boards again, she has two plastic grocery bags in one hand and a cloth shopping bag in the other. She lays them along the floor next to her first two bags.
Then she goes back out the door.
She makes two more trips for a total of nine bags, the last two a pair of small but pretty hefty-looking duffel bags. These last two she places in front of the bench seats on the driver’s side since she’s run out of room on the opposite side.
She occupies the one bench seat that isn’t blocked by the bags.
After settling in, she rummages through her purse and pulls out a turquoise handkerchief. She unfolds it, then begins to shake it violently over her purse. She pauses, looks at her purse, then starts again.
After a second pause, she starts scrubbing the top of the purse except there is no contact between the handkerchief and the purse.
After several more "scrubbings," she puts the handkerchief back in her purse, then pulls out a tube of lipstick. She holds the tube up to the light and gives it a good look. Then she moves it to her right ear and proceeds to have a phone conversation.
I can’t make out any of the words, but she has the tone down pat. It really sounds like she’s part of a two-way phone conversation.
Now that I think about it, she probably is.
__________
The photo at the top of this story is titled “Kicked Out” ⓒ All Rights Reserved, and is posted with the kind permission of camera1. You can see this and all camera1’s photos on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cameraobscure/113548928
posted by Busboy at 5:00 AM
2 Comments:
Fascinating slice of life, well told, as always.
BBBH
So sad. That was probably all of her belongings. I wonder where she calls "home".
Post a Comment
<< Home