Humans on the Bus




When I get frustrated with the bus and all its unpleasantness, its lateness, its overcrowding, odd smells, headphones at obnoxious levels, rude passengers, rude drivers, and all the rest, I try to remember that it is kind of amazing that bus rides function at all.

With any other animal, it wouldn't work. On my bus this morning, there were about sixty people, and it was a canned sardine experience. I was in physical contact with three or four people, none of whom were my friend. I smelled their smells. If you got chimpanzees packed in like that, it would be one mean scene. Throw in all the moving and abrupt stops, and they'd tear each other apart.

But we humans, we do okay. We may make some unnecessarily long sighs and give micro-glares at people who bump into us, but for the most part, we're chill. We keep it together.

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