Named

Yesterday there were one or two incidents of a sort that are not so common for me, and with which I do find myself at a loss. Both concerned travel, in a way. The main one, given that it directly involved me (rather than me being an observer), occurred as I rode a bus on the way to an audition. I was fearful of low energy (and the somewhat tight pants I'd chosen to wear), so I resolved to stand rather than sit no matter what seating was available.

There's no really convenient place to stand on a bus, but there is a tiny bit of space near the rear door of your typical bus. The key thing is that you get yourself out of the way when people need to exit the bus. I like to think I do a fair job of that. One man did not. He shouted out something like "Hey, Mr. Headphones- come on!" I was Mr Headphones, I guess, and I wonder if he thought I couldn't hear or see him. Indeed I could do both.

The thing was that for a moment I couldn't get out of his way, as doing so would only mean getting in someone else's way. Were I in his shoes, I would have appreciated that a moment's patience would resolve the matter, whereas a brusque remark couldn't do anything to ameliorate the sheer physics of the matter. Of course, he didn't look much inclined to think things through as I would, but surely he has some better qualities.

It's a funny thing to be addressed as "Mr Headphones". I got off easy there. If it weren't for what he perceived to be my inability to hear him coming along, he might have picked a more cutting name based on any number of perceivable attributes. Then again, I might well have returned the favor. There were one or two things I might have made into a colorful name for the man, but there would have been little point in elevating the thing to a real hostile exchange.