Post-Happy-Hour Bus Ride

Sometimes you run into people on the bus who just want to talk to you. Sometimes, when you get on the bus, the talkers are already there - and already talking to each other.

This evening, the latter was the case. Two men, sitting in the row behind the back door, were having a conversation loud enough for the entire bus to hear.

Guy #1 mentions that he grew up in Indiana, near Lake Michigan.

Guy #2 says he grew up near the Finger Lakes.

Guy #1: I know the Great Lakes, man, but I don't know nothin' about these tiny lakes.

Guy #2: Is 44 miles long tiny?

Guy #1: Where are those lakes? I know Superior and Erie...

Guy #2: They're in New York!

Guy #1: Man, I drove from Indiana to New York, through Cleveland and Ohio, even went into part of Connecticut for a while...

Guy #2: [loudly, addressing the whole bus] Hey, has anyone heard of the Finger Lakes?

Third Guy, clearly on his last nerve: YES!

Guy #2: See, everyone's heard of it!

At this point, Guy #2 has given up and starts talking about the Vikings. Guy #1 continues to mutter about the Finger Lakes for at least another 15 minutes.

I'm 90% sure these two men didn't know each other before riding the bus today. They'll probably never speak to each other again. But they were loudly arguing on the bus over whether or not something called the Finger Lakes existed. Now, if you've ever looked at a map of the state of New York, they're pretty hard to miss - like Guy #2 pointed out, they're far from tiny.

Of course, my favorite part was the third person chiming in on the conversation. I could tell that he had been listening to the entire conversation. He was so clearly annoyed with these other men that I could almost hear him rolling his eyes. Priceless.

It amazes me, sometimes, what people find necessary to discuss in such a public place as the bus. It never ceases to amuse me.