A tone of resignation
Years ago in St. Paul there was the 34 line. It went from Midway Center, through Hamline University and down Minnehaha Ave on its way to downtown. It passed a seniors hi-rise on Hamline and Minnehaha and another on Victoria and Minnehaha. It was a very lightly traveled route, so most of the riders were old people. Things were quiet, which was nice, but there was a down side in that so many old people made for slow loading and it was frustrating to be boarding passengers at a traffic light as it went from red to green and back to red.
One day while westbound on Minnehaha between Dale and Victoria [and I’ve never forgotten the exact location where it happened] I tuned in on the conversation. Nearly all the seniors were women. When I started listening they were comparing how long they had been widows.
“My husband passed last May.”
“Mines been gone eight years.”
So it went as others chimed in with the time they had been alone. Then they moved on to purse snatchings.
“I had a shoulder bag and he dragged me till I let go. My arm hasn’t been right since.”
“He came up behind me and knocked me down and punched me in the eye.”
So it went again. There was no anger. No raised voices. Just a tone of resignation. Very sad.
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