Strung Out From the Road

It's not uncommon for the CABS drivers to bring a radio along while they drive their route. I take the same two buses all week so I've become familiar with the genre of music each driver prefers. "Messy hair guy" (that greets me with a really creepy stare each morning but pleasantly smiles at me as I step off the bus - go figure!) loves Radiohead and....well, come to think of it, I think he was listening to Portishead all week last week. Hmmm...maybe it's "head" month. The bus-driving thug that mixes industrial uniform and bling-bling really has a thing for Indian techno-music. I'll admit, it's kind of catchy.

I don't know if it's the pending lunar eclipse or what, but today I had such a twilight zone moment on my way back from my midterm. I get on the bus and the first thing I notice is the way he has his eyes fixed straight ahead. He never even gives a quick glance to anyone getting on or off. I find a seat and watch the last person get off the bus. She was a straggler and because he didn't seem to be paying attention, I was just wincing hoping he wouldn't close the doors on her. NOPE! He had perfect timing and never averted his gaze. As soon as the bus starts moving, Bob Seger starts playing. It was like his theme song. "Here I go, on the road again, here I am, up on the stage..." He leans down and turns it up! I think Bob was singing to him. Maybe an injury or failed exam caused him to throw away his dream of driving the big rigs...or a Greyhound. Maybe he's just had enough of this small town (you know, third largest in the country...but whatever) and he's got his sights on something bigger. OOH! Maybe the Bob Seger tour bus! I look around a little to see if anyone seems to think it's strange. There were four other passengers. A young girl on her cell-phone with the AUDACITY to talk over the music, a guy that was sleeping, a girl that was reading "My Life" (the Clinton autobiography), and a medical school student that was PAH-ROWD to be a medical student. He had the OSUMC mug, OSUMC patch on his OSUMC lab coat, an OSUMC sweatshirt on, AND he was studying what looked like some anatomy-related flashcards. He's intently studying/memorizing while tapping his foot to the music. At one point he stops, cards still in his had, gazes out the window and starts mouthing the words "...you smoke the days last cigarette, remembering what she said..." The song ended about a minute before we pulled up to my stop. No song came on after that.