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Bus folk
Off the Wall
July 26, 2007
Recently, it was announced over the television that
after a survey, it was found that women talk as much as men.
Being a man as I am, I beg to differ, not because
of my gender, but by way of observation.
A while back, a friend of mind got into somewhat
of a discussion concerning my stories and she told me I could
not write my article unless I did a great of research concerning
the subject at hand. So, instead of letting my fingers do the
walking, as many people do to thumb through related material
in books, etc., I, a couple of weeks ago, took a different approach.
I put my ears to the test.
While taking a bus tour, I decided to direct my
right ear in certain directions, similar to a radar gun, and
see who was putting out the most vibrations.
What I'm about to relate is the whole truth, nothing
but the truth, so help me God!
Behind me were three women, two diagonal to my right,
and the third right behind me.
To my right as well as directly in front of me were two couples.
A little farther ahead to my right was another couple, presumably
husband and wife, but then I couldn't be sure about that. They
did make a nice couple, though.
Now, the reason I am telling you all this is that
the husband and wife pairs said very little to each other on
the whole excursion. The two that seemed to be a very nice couple
were fun to watch. She seemed to always start the conversation
rolling; the two would laugh, and then settle down again. This
was kind of the rule of thumb with them. I would often wonder
if she didn't say anything, would they be talking at all. That
led me to believe that maybe they were just traveling together
and having a good time while doing so.
But let me tell you. Those ladies behind me were
non-stop talkers. If I would have written down each subject they
talked about, I would have been able to fill my column in short
order. Topics included the play and movie, Hairspray, which,
by the way all recommended, that each was retired, one a nurse,
and the other, administrative office secretary to politicians
and the number of grandchildren they each had. One of the trio
talk about her experiences on a bus tour to Yellowstone National
Park.
"The roads were so windy and narrow, I had
to close my eyes and not even look outside of the bus's window,"
she commented. "I was scared to death. I hope I never have
to go through that again."
Just then, the announcer on the bus stated we will
be taking a trip on a train that looks down on a river. That
same lady, in a quiet tone stated, "Maybe I shouldn't be
going on this ride."
I am not one to keep silent, as many of you know.
I am always interested in how people have occupied their lives
previous to our getting together.
To my right, as I said before was a couple. I asked
the gentleman, "What did you do before you became retired."
Upon questioning, he told me he patrolled the Monongahela River.
Many times, he told me, his wife would accompany him on their
yacht. "There were instances, he related, I would catch
young men trying to stash beer cans on their boats before taking
to the waters."
Even though most of the riders were middle-aged
men and women, I noticed two young girls on the trip as well.
"Are you two young ladies enjoying the trip," I asked.
One quickly responded, "I'm not young anymore.
I'm even retired." I told her she looked too young to be
retired. She told me her age and that she had served in the army
and had put in her time. I congratulated and thanked her for
her service.
But if there was one person who really captured
my attention, it was a senior citizen somewhere in her mid to
late 80's. Everything she said blessed the socks off me.
"I love these trips, people and everything
life has given me."
If we could just find more women like her,
then maybe they should be speaking more than men!
Paul j. volkmann
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