Wednesday, March 15, 2006

 

lost



why do I always get the crazy ones. busmates can be classified into two groups: the sane and the insane. of the sane, there is only one subcategory with one general description: they are quiet, they mind their own business and they ardently pray that they get seatmates with these same qualities. for the insane class, a.k.a. the Crazies, you have 30 or so subcategories. this morning I got the one which is the most common of all: the lost commuter.

“pre, pwede magtanong?”

I nod the smallest nod in the world.

“sanbababa kung San Pedro?”

horror of horrors. The bus was headed for Manila from Alabang via the South Luzon Express way. no stops would be made in Sucat or Bicutan. this man was headed in the opposite direction. I answer: “di ako sigurado eh.”

“sige, salamat.”

by my calculations, a full minute passes.

“pre, alam mo ba kung san bababa kung San Pedro?”

this man has amnesia.

“di ako sigurado. pero alam ko pa south yun. pa north tong bus. baba ka ng Mantrade tapos dun ka pwedeng magtanong.”

the man, wide eyed, repeats my advised stop.

“Mantrade.”

I nod. soon the inevitable hits me:

“saan ang Mantrade?”

“unang babaan.”

when we reach Mantrade, the man double confirms if he should go down. I nod. the less I say, the shorter the conversation; but then a flash pang of conscience hits me:

“tawid ka sa kabila tapos sakay ka ng Alabang. pag baba mo, wag ka tatawid. hintay ka na lang ng bus na San Pedro. may dadaan dun."


The man gets even with me: he nods a small nod. I am certain that he has disregarded my advice. he will go back to Alabang and ask another person for directions for San Pedro, Laguna. there is no helping him.

Comments:
yeah yeah yeah!
 
your posts are so f*cking cool! saw your link on a sticker in a bus and got curious so checked it out.
i LOVE riding the bus than a car. 'stig ka!
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?