The stupid, it *burns*...

On the bus to pay the cable bill this afternoon, there was this (at a guess) high-school-age girl in the back of the bus talking on her cell phone. I was near the front of the bus. I could hear her conversation clearly over the traffic.

So could the bus driver who got on the PA after a burst of profanity (references to fecal material and intercourse) and asked her to watch her language.

Me, I was amazed that she was talking about stealing from stores and needing a getaway car and the like.

A while later after more profanity the driver stopped the bus (several blocks from my stop) and walked back to tell the girl to get off the bus. She was all amazed and indignant. "What'd I say?"

I shouldn't have but I piped up "S**t, F**k, and several other things. As well as discussing croiminal activities..."

From the looks I caught from several other passengers, they were glad I was saying it.

Girl goes "why didn't you say something to me?"
Driver: "I did, over the intercom"
Girl: "I thought you wanted me to turn my music down and I did."

Much back and forth with the driver saying she was quite happy to stay parked there until the girl got off.

Afte a few minutes, I figured it was quicker to get off and walk the few blocks to the Comcast office.

Of course, I'd gotten about a block when the bus goes by. And sure enough a few minutes later the girl and her boyfriend appear.

She wants to know "why'd you say that?"

I told her something about it being really stupid to discuss criminal stuff in public. She tried to mae like she didn't know what I was talking about.

Anyway, she got upset with me and hit my arms a few times. Startling but not at all damaging. I pointed out that that was assualt and she could bearrested for it.

She tried being in my face so,me more but I mostly ignored her and they went on down the street as they were walking faster than I was.

This girl is going to learn a few really hard lessons from somebody in the future. If I'd been thinking I'd have pointed out that hitting somebody who outweighs you by 3-4 times is *really* stupid, even if he looks to be out of shape. I bet I could have picked her skinny ass up and thrown her 10 feet. Not that I would. *I* want to stay out of jail.

And that there are folks who don't look that different than me that'd have knifed her for hitting them.

And I could have gone on about how incredibly *dumb* it is to hold a "private" conversation on the bus.

If she doesn't get in trouble for trying to intimidate someone the way she did with me, she's gonna get in trouble for being to stupid to stay out of jail by talking loudly about the wrong thing in the wrong place.

God. I know *I* was dumb as teen, but I wasn't *that* stupid by 4th grade.

Two great things that go great together

Happened to get March of Cambreadth on my playlist while reading one of the Horseclans books.

Works pretty good, Since the first time I'd heard the marxch was long after Adams died,, I'd never thought of the two together.

On the other hand, as I read more of the books (I hadn't been able to get at them since the early 90s) I'm having my face rubbed in Adam's homophobia.

The bad guy characters are quite often gay. The nasty sort. Non-con, men forcing boys, women forcing women, and *every* gay character is evil/sick/etc.

Even back in the 80s there were comments about it. a quarter century later, it's something I just remind myself to treat as any other "period literature".