Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Skooch

If it weren't for the couple blocking the aisle, Skooch would have been the oddest thing I'd seen all day. The couple had two GIANT backpacks and were sitting on either side of aisle with their legs turned towards each other. They were also holding hands and all of this caused them to block the aisle of the bus. Whenever a passenger got on, they had to turn their knees and let go of each other. This not only squished the people sitting next to them, but also provided a very small opening for others to push through. Despite the fact that the entire back half of the bus held exactly one passenger, they took the first two forward-facing seats.
Skooch got on a stop or two after I did. He wore a very long grey afro, combed out to stand even higher, and coke bottle glasses. He had a full backpack and a grocery bag with him. So when the couple only gave him eight inches of room, he had quite a bit of manuvering to do. He got past them and found two empty seats. He struggled to remove his backpack while still standing because the bus was now in motion.
When it came time for him to get off of the bus, he stayed seated while putting on his backpack. This caused him to be wedged between his seat and the one in front of him. After a hurculean effort, he launched himself out of the tight space, grabbed his grocery bag and disembarked.
I imagine that his friends call him Skooch and he is both the local oddball and the neighborhood "familiar stranger". If my annoyance had not been all used up on the aisle-blocking couple, I probably would have found him a bit annoying. Luckily I didn't have any bad feelings leftover for him.
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