I am sleeping lightly on the bus home, opening my eyes periodically to check where we are. A young woman with heavy eyebrows and a long ponytail sits across from me. She is accompanied by a young man with massive headphones. Think the size ear muffs you’d wear to Antarctica. That big.<\/p>\n
She: …I just realized – I don’t know who I AM when I’m with him
\nHe: Hmm
\nShe: …anyway…it’s fine…we’re growing
\nHe: Yeah<\/p>\n
The man sitting to my right smells of work-site dust and stale cigarettes. He spends a few minutes telling the guy across the isle about the site where he’s foreman. He’s so desperate for workers, he’s got to keep junkies on the payroll.<\/p>\n
She: Lookit her, talking to herself. That’s crazy.
\nHe: Hmm
\nShe: Is it crazy? I talk to myself all the time. Does it really mean you’re crazy? I don’t feel crazy.
\nHe: There was this really crazy woman on the skytrain the other day
\nShe: Yeah?
\nHe: Yeah, she was, like, talking about university students and how we should go into the military…
\nShe: That’s not crazy
\nHe: …and me and my friend didn’t even know she was talking to us but then she started doing, like, military call signs into her hand alpha, bravo<\/i> right? And she’s all, young people should join up and serve their countries..
\nShe: It’s not really much of a stretch for university students to go to war..
\nHe: I guess not. She was, like, feral<\/i>
\nShe: What is that, feral? Is it –
\nHe: It means wild
\nShe: I’ve only heard it used about children. I should look it up.<\/p>\n
We pass the second to last major intersection before my stop and 80% of the bus disembarks, including the man next to me. <\/p>\n
She: Let me ask you a question
\nHe: OK
\nShe: Is there a difference between perspective and perception?
\nHe: …
\nShe: I was thinking about this last night. There really isn’t much difference, right?
\nHe: …
\nShe: Because perspective is, like, where you’re standing when you see something, right? It’s like your viewpoint. But perception is the same thing. It’s like,how<\/i> you see. And how <\/i> you see and where<\/i> you’re seeing it from, those are the same thing, right?
\nHe: Yeah, it’s both about seeing…
\nShe: Damn, I need a dictionary.<\/p>\n
The bus inches down 12th Street. The sky is darkening and people are moving quickly along the sidewalk, hurrying home. I am thinking about the jar of Biryani sauce I am going to cook with rice and meat when I get home. I suddenly remember the apple pie in my fridge and smile broadly on the inside.<\/p>\n
He: There’s that new store…man, I’m gonna waste a lot of money in there.
\nShe: It’s not a waste if you end up with something you want
\nHe: It is if you don’t have the money
\nShe: No! If it’s something you want, it’s all right to spend the money
\nHe: Well, I need a new TV
\nShe: Why?
\nHe: I want one of those flat screen –
\nShe: You don’t NEED a new TV then, you WANT one, there’s a difference
\nHe: …
\nShe: You have to know the difference. There’s a difference. You NEED food and water and shelter. You WANT a new TV.
\nHe: Yeah, I guess so. I want one.
\nShe: And you shouldn’t just expect to get everything you want.<\/p>\n
I get off the bus a stop early because they show no signs of leaving and while I am, at points, amused by the conversation, I am also starting to want to punch her in the nose. <\/p>\n
I look up as I am leaving the bus and she is staring at her knees, making this sour face, her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth mean. I can tell she is just waiting for him to say something so she can shoot it down, or correct it, or argue. <\/p>\n
He still has the headphones on. He looks happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am sleeping lightly on the bus home, opening my eyes periodically to check where we are. A young woman with heavy eyebrows and a long ponytail sits across from me. She is accompanied by a young man with massive … Continue reading