Pajamas and a bath robe
In the early ’80s I had a night route on the 21. Once, at about 11PM, the bus was westbound approaching Lake and 36th. There was a bright moon, making everything stand out in sharp relief. The night was warm for January and there had been a good deal of snow that winter, which was now piled along the curb by repeated plowing of the streets.
From a distance I could see that someone was sitting on the bench in the bus stop. I didn’t look at the person very much and concentrated on lining up the stop. When I opened the door the person sitting on the bench was lit up by the door light. He was facing down the street and didn’t look at the bus. There was a lit cigarette in his left hand, the hand with which he forlornly waved the bus on. This wasn’t unusual behavior but something didn’t seem right. Then it dawned on me. He was out here in the middle of a winter night with his feet plunged into snow that went half way up his calf and he was wearing pajamas and a bath robe.
He never looked at the bus but took another slow drag on his cigarette. Apparently he and the missus had some unresolved issues.
Apr 16th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
He must have been broke, usually those folks get on the bis in the winter to keep warm!