2 for 2

(written march 11)
i sat at the bus stop......silent.......tears streaming down my face......chin tucked into my snowboarding jacket....attempting to imitate the magical genius of teh ostrich and disappear

it had been a particularly disappointing morning....buti'd tried to look on the bright side....it could have been worse......it could ahve been raining......the station clock said it was 12 degrees celcius....it lied.....at home, 12 degrees is practically t-shirt weather....i had my snowboarding jacket on and still my arms were retreating up my sleeves to reach the hearth of my core.....if only the driver hadn't been so mean (or so it had seemed -- as i don't actually know what he said)

the morning had started off well....early, but well....i woke up in plenty of time to catch my 845 am sunday morning bus to my next destination....well-rested, showered, packed, with a morsel in my belly......i was ready to go with time to spare....but i forgot one major factor.........small town goodbyes......i went to say "bye and thanks" and before i knew it i was being offered coffee and tea and talked to as if i understood ( i wonder if she was a little lonely).....i got a photo with her for posterity....which initiated her to reciprocate....then addresses were exchanged...then more goodbyes....hugs and kisses....the whoel repartee took 10 minutes....it was 3 minutes too much

i walked down the hill (the most mountainous beast i have yet to climb on this journey)....and turned the corner to see my bus.....pass me.....saw it......it was right there......that's ok, thought i......i still had 45 minutes before my other bus leaves.......so i waited......
i checked the schedule and another public bus was scheduled in half and hour -- i should still be able to squeeze into the depot before the grand departure.....dramatic but ok....so i waited......waited.....30 minutes passed and no bus....bag off...check schedule...turns out tere are footnotes....the 830am bus is a weekday bus...... contemplate hiking back up the hill and wasting another day......an old man walked by and i tried to ask if another bus was coming....the only time that i could see that had the same symbols as the 8am bus was not scheduled until 3pm.....i sure didn't want to sit at that stop ALL day
he spoke a lot -- not a word of which i understood.....nosimple words like "ano" (yes) or "ne"(no)...but his hands seemed to indicate thtat i should stay put.....i did......i had now been at the bus stop for over an hour....the next potential bus (depending on the meanings of the schedule's footnotes) should come in 25 minutes......i waited

the bus did come....it got me to the depot90 minutes after my bus had left and 2 hours before the next one to my destination....more waiting....i tried to read but my fingers froze quickly.....even when standing in teh sun....there was no indoor waiting area....the info lady didn't which platform my bus was leaving from ....and 3 buses were leaving at the appointed time.....since my next stop was not a final destination, it was not indicated on the big board.....i had to wait for the buses.....i didn't want to think of what i'd do if i missed the next bus.....hopefully, they's stop long enough for me to determine which one was mine

one of the nuses pulled in 30 minutes before departure time -- and it had the name of my next town on the list of destinations on the placard in the window....yeah!....unexpressed internal jubilee!....after the passengers disembarked, i tried to confirm taht this was indeed my bus.....( i wouldn't want to get on the wrong one and end up who knows where)....as the driver got people's bags out of teh belly of the bus, i actioned for mine to go in....i was hopeful that with my bag safe, i could run to teh toilet and maybe eat something before we left....neither of which i had done......he snapped at me.....said "ne"....and made an action that he was going to eat....no big deal, really....but it struck a chord.....i slumped onto the bench as the embarassment of my public tears mounted.....

a young girl sat next to me....after a few minutes, i semi-composed myself, got out my phrase-book and pieced together a badly executed request for her to watch my bag.....she understood.....she nodded and i ran off to the WC
in retrospect, i still don't know what happened to me....i know like has tenderized my emotions over the last few years--beaten me into a softy -- but this seemed uncalled for......oh well! if this is the worst that happens to me on this trip, then no worries indeed......