#35: Deaf Man on Bus
Once I was traveling by Greyhound bus. There was a lady on board that would not stop talking “at” everyone. It was mostly benign, just details about her life, but she clearly had a cognitive issue that was driving the behavior. No social queues or boundaries observed. Everyone was polite at first when she initiated conversation, but after an hour of this people started getting tired and some got rude. Most just put in headphones and pretended she wasn’t there. Then we hit a stop in the next city. A few folks got off, new passengers got on. This friendly looking fellow spotted the empty seat next to her, shuffled up to it, and pointed inquisitively. She welcomed him and he sat down next to her even though several people on board tried gently to warn him otherwise.
This man turned out to be deaf. She immediately started talking to him. He immediately pulled out a writing pad and communicated to her that he couldn’t hear. She then shushed, gestured for the pad, and wrote something back to him. He smiled. Then they spent the entirety of the remaining two-hour trip in peaceful quietude together passing notes back and forth…except for the occasional delighted giggle. I’m a pretty cynical person but it really made me wonder about things.
