Observations from a bus...

So, I took the bus up to Chicago this morning. After a night of less than five hours of sleep, I was ready to pass out as soon as I boarded. I managed to pick a seat directly behind this group of middle-aged ladies, clearly very excited about their trip to the big city and also very loud.

They looked like retired Kindergarten teachers. You know, the ones who wore alphabet sweaters and self-made, craft-project Halloween sweatshirts on the special day. Today, the only visible remnants of their former careers were ladybug earrings and necklaces made out of buttons. But, still, I could see with whom I was dealing. They hooped and hollered as they recalled the time that Mary had one too many margaritas. They oohed and aahed over the latest issue of Real Simple. I tried to drown them out with my headphones.

I concocted my own story about them based on what I could observe. They were all going to see a taping of the Oprah show. They might get "crazy" and indulge in a chocolate martini. They would wear Keds. They would slap high fives when they found a great sale at Talbot's. They would be skepitcal of all foreign cab drivers. They would try to figure out where Ms. Winfrey lives. They might only call their husbands threes time a day. This would be the best girls' weekend of their lives.

Other than all that, it's amazing how sad a pick-up truck carrying a load of used tires in its bed can look when you're listening to the right song.