Gross

If you are already grossed out by the germs and general gnar of the public transit system, read no further.

I haven't actually paid too much attention to how germy the bus probably is because I am an avid hand washer and in the spirit of looking on the bright side, I think that riding the bus has boosted my immune system. I've been riding the bus for almost a year and haven't gotten a cold, flu, chlamydia or any other sort of disease from doing so. *knocking on wood right now.

However, one particular day I think I gagged and felt diseased just watching a particular old lady. The site of her was disturbing, but the behavior set me over the top. She was sitting catty corner to me and I was frowning at her from the moment I sat down. There are cute old ladies and there are really strange ones. She was beyond strange. Like so old you couldn't figure out how she was still alive. She had old white knee high stockings that she had probably been wearing since the 1920's, a hat that would have been cute if it hadn't been moldy. Her skin was pale as death, but she had on crazy dark eye makeup and the darkest maroon lips. Of course she didn't have teeth so the way she moved her mouth with that dark lipstick made me grimace in disgust.

*I actually Googled "gross old lady" and couldn't find a gross picture close enough to the lady to post on here. This lady is young and spry in comparison, but gives you an idea.

Here is something I don't understand unless you have tuberculosis - when you cough, you need a tissue to cough into. Now I can understand if you put a handkerchief to your mouth when you cough so you don't spread germs around, but when the reason for the tissue is because something is coming out of your mouth onto the tissue, I lose it.

But fortunately for me, someone else lost it first. The dude next to me started yelling at the old lady exclaiming that she spit on the floor of the bus. This guy was yelling at her in disgust and telling her that he expected more of our elders, etc. He was yelling so much, to almost no reaction from this lady, that the bus driver intervened and wanted to know what was going on. The guy told the bus driver the lady spit on the floor, the bus driver asked her in Spanish if she spit on the floor and she denied it. He continued to make comments to himself about being disgusted and how she lied.

Even if she didn't spit on the floor, she picked up her tissue off the seat next to her and put it in her bag.

As I finish writing this, I realize I should have kept this one to myself. But regardless, I will be wearing a garbage bag on the bus from now on.