Mental illness or just bad manners?

Hello, how is your day going?  This is your morning transit bus speaking.  I believe when I stopped to pick you up today I was a little bit early.  Or was I a little bit late?  I really couldn't say for certain which.  Hopefully you planned for just such an inevitability with a flexible itinerary.  I should really start writing my own transit poems.  Maybe I could retire early and live off the royalties.  There must be some hippies left out there in need of affordable accommodation.  I burn "bio-fuel".  I'm green.  I'm hip.  I can get those organic mushrooms to market on time.  My third cousin Otto was almost chosen to read for the part of the VW bus in the movie Cars, which was filmed in California don't you know.  Anyway.

Back to this morning.  I saw you hesitate before climbing on board.  There was a dour, thin, pale-faced young woman standing right at the door.  You gave her time and space to exit before boarding, but when you caught her gaze enquiringly a blank and icy stare was the only thing forthcoming.  So, you squeezed past (excusing yourself, how polite), paid your fare, marvelled at my commodious interior, and took a comfortable (dare I say luxurious?) seat.  Off we went.

You probably don't think I'm watching.  I'd bet tickets to a seniors' passes you have no idea I'm sentient, but I am.  I saw you scoff at the icy lady as she continued to block the way of people entering and exiting at my front door at the next few stops.  Did you know I can read your thoughts?  I know that you almost got into a huff over her behaviour.  However, you looked out my panoramic windows at the early morning sun pouring in, and laughed it off.  What did it matter to you what she chose to do?

Now, I know that you asked that question of yourself rhetorically.  It helped you to get things into a balanced perspective, and move on.  Unfortunately, the dour and icy lady forced you to ask it of yourself again.  She had been standing up at my front, almost directly beside my driver, listening to her headphones and playing with her mobile device.  Driver was beginning to feel crowded.  She invited the lady to take a seat, and was told to get on with her job of driving.

Driver is no slouch.  She's been doing the job of directing me through the busy streets for twenty years.  She has seen it all.  Her response was to tell me to apply the brakes. I pulled over and stopped.  We gave that lady a polite talking-to and again asked her to move back or sit down.  She refused.  Driver called for back-up and told her to sit down or get off the bus.  At this point you exclaimed your displeasure at the inconvenience.  I believe you said the lady was "foolish" and "selfish".  You kept it simple: she was inconveniencing everyone and should either sit or get off.  Others weren't so kind.  It is odd and a bit disheartening how quickly the words "crazy" and "psycho" get bandied about.  She may have mental issues, but mostly her behaviour was a sign of a massively inflated ego, a desire to draw attention to herself, and a disregard for the concerns of others.  These ingredients appear in the very rich and "successful" who cut me off in their Beamers and Audis every other day.

You know what?  I'm tired of talking about her.  Before she finally exited by my hydraulic front doors she did have a nose-to-nose shouting match with a tough little lady from the Philippines, which I'd say she lost.  There was some mild applause after she left in which I noticed you saw fit to participate.  Really though, it's been a long day that started out kind of strangely, so it's time to park it.  Why give the dour and icy lady any more attention than she has already gained?  It would be nice to think that she learned something about herself from the situation.  Maybe it was a performance-art piece.  Oh well, whatever. I'm glad it's over.  See you tomorrow.