All The Things You Are
Trying to figure out an appropriate conclusion for this blog, I find myself thinking back to a revelation that occurred to me during a bus ride this semester that seems to somehow be a fitting summation of the experience as a whole.
Throughout the year there was a young couple, probably in their late twenties, that got on the bus a few stops after me. As things worked out, they often ended up sitting in the seats directly across from me. The woman was quite pretty in a subtle and delicate way, and had a rather reserved and somehow mischievously quiet demeanor. The man was thin, dark haired and stylishly retro, but was not classically handsome, and he gave off a very writerly vibe; he had thick black framed glasses and emitted what I can only describe as a somewhat sarcastic, intellectual aura. Thinking back to it, I think he could have passed convincingly as a young Allen Ginsberg.
I found this couple particularly interesting because they seemed very distinct from the rest of the patrons on the bus. Unlike most of the people on the bus, who were either reading, sleeping, or not looking at anything in particular, this pair seemed very aware of their surroundings and they often seemed to glance observantly around the bus with curious, intelligent gazes. Additionally, they were the only obvious couple on the bus, and they seemed very into each other. Covertly keeping an eye on them, I noticed the man frequently leaning in with an amused twinkle in his eye and whispering in her ear, which would cause her cast her eyes downwards, look up at something, look back down, and giggle quietly.
I found this very interesting, and wondered what sort of sweet nothings he was whispering in her ear. They must have been very much in love, I thought to myself, to keep this up for so long. And it was slightly odd behavior; I always got the sense they were sharing some kind of tiny and very amusing secret with each other. I wondered what it was.
Several months later, while watching them glance around the bus and whisper secretively to each other out of the corner of my eye, it suddenly struck me: they were watching the other riders.
By extension, they were watching me. My mind was blown. The number of times one of them had glanced curiously at me and then looked away when I looked back took on a whole new meaning. Their entire strange set of behavior suddenly made sense, since it was exactly what I had been doing, only without the benefit of having some to immediately share with. They were taking advantage of the same, fertile people watching environment that I was. I began to consider all of the humbling things they had probably observed about me. In a moment, the watcher had become the watched.
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And with that, I wrap up a late night blog session and also On Transit as a whole. Thanks for reading, everybody. No, let’s be realistic – thanks for reading, Sara. I hope this was, if nothing else, entertaining for you.