Life I'm on the bus home this evening. It's rush hour and we're all wedged into seats and the isle is full. At the back, there's the sudden but inevitable emergence of a drum beat from a mobile phone. There's no melody, no vocal, just the constant replant, thumpity thump of a drum machine of the kind which indicates that a 'musician' had pressed a button on his Yamaha, turned the mike on and gone out for a smoke. As ever, everyone is turning around trying to detect where this noise is coming from, all too scared to shout out a warning.
Eventually, the noise starts getting closer, as the source, a disappointingly stereotypical looking teenager in a hooded black top with WHAT NOW printed on the back heads up the bus with his two friends. The noise is coming from his pocket, everyone watches, but again no one admonishes this noise polluter. As he gets off the bus, he thanks the driver, who also says nothing, even though we all have headaches. It's as though its perfectly fine that this kid walks around with a personal soundtrack playing, one which we can all hear.
No wonder I've begun walking to work. On Friday morning, it has to be said after having weighed myself and totted up the final cost of Christmas, I decided to set off earlier and meander into town. Sefton Park to there isn’t that far, about two miles, but its always seemed just too far for anything other than bus travel. How wrong I’ve been. Once I get up onto Princes Avenue, with town tantalisingly at the other end, it’s not too hard and each time has become easier as I understand the length of the journey, the different. It’s cheaper than getting the bus, I’ve plenty of time to catch up podcasts, I've got some personal space back and I’m getting some exercise. Why have I never done this before?
2 comments:
I think it's wonderful that you are now walking instead but I would like to make note that it is also wonderful that the teen with the loud music thanked the bus driver. He may be discourteous in one way but is very polite in another. Not enough people thank the bus driver.
Oh absolutely, which is why thought it worth mentioning. It's just an odd paradox that on the one had he had manners enough to do that but on the other hadn't realised he was invading everyone else aural space and that we might be unhappy about that.
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