Urban Bus Adventure: Vladimir

It was dusk one October evening and I was standing at a bus stop in a park waiting for my bus. I was about five minutes early and kept looking at my watch to see how much time I had left to wait for the bus to arrive. In between glances at the clock I was noticing the people around me. 5:40 -- a student with his pack pack standing about five feet behind me. 5:42 -- three transients (street people) gathered around a park table. 5:44 -- a woman jogging in the park. 5: 46 -- "Excuse me, excuse me. Please to tell me the time." I looked up. An elderly man was standing in front of me. He was wearing slacks and a polo shirt with a straw hat. His broken English and thick accent told me he wasn't American. "You want to know what time it is?" I asked. "Yes. Yes. Please. Thank you." He nodded while he spoke and then smiled. I gave him a half-smile and looked at my watch. "It's 5:47." "Thank you," he responded, and then, "Tell me, are you married?"
I looked at him a bit surprised. "No, no I'm not."
"Ah, that is too bad. Why you no married? In my country a girl like you would not be without a husband. Perhaps it is because you don't wish to be married?"
Feeling a bit uncomfortable at this point I tried to redirect him, "Oh, you're not from here. Where are you from?"
He informed me that he was from Russia, his name was Vladimir, and he was 85 years old. All this was verified by his producing a driver's license with said information printed on it. Seeing his age, I let me guard down a bit. Surely he was a harmless old man, just trying to be friendly. Boy was I wrong. The next thing out of his mouth was a question about my plans for the evening. When I informed him I was on my way to study for the evening he was a bit disappointed. He then proceeded to tell me that my evening would be better spent at his apartment drinking vodka with him. He was sure that I would be great company and he assured me that he could satisfy my desires for companionship, and even if I was a bit uncomfortable a little vodka would fix everything.
A bit horrified at his suggestions, I tried to let him know very gently that I wouldn't be accompanying him to his apartment and I was sure he could find someone else to go with him. He agreed that he could find someone else, as he had many women over there very often and they always left very happy, but why did he need to look for anyone else when he had me. I tried to remind him that he didn't have me and I wasn't interested. He ignored me and continued insisting that I go with him. I found myself willing the bus to arrive so I could find safe haven in it. To my horror, when the bus did arrive Vladimir got on with me and sat next to me. I tried to ignore him, but he insisted on talking to me and attempting to give me his apartment address.
Thankfully my stop was a short distance away and I only had to endure this "elderly gentleman" for a brief amount of time. As I pulled the bell to signal my stop I stood to get off the bus. That's when Vladimir informed the bus driver that he couldn't let me off because I was his date for the evening and I would be going with him to his apartment to drink vodka and have some fun. The bus driver looked at me like I was some sort of sick girl, as though he actually believed this guy! I shrugged my shoulders and told him I did indeed want to get off at this next stop. I wasn't sure what my Russia aggressor would do once that bus stopped but I was determined that I was getting off and away from him.
As the bus pulled to a stop I grabbed my backpack and hurriedly walked to the front of the bus. Vladimir began to protest that his beautiful evening was coming to an end with my exit. I didn't look behind me, I just kept pushing forward. As I stepped down the bus's steps another girl began to climb up. I stood on the pavement a moment and watched as she sat where I had been sitting. Vladimir instantly began talking to her. Phew! At least I was safe from him. Poor girl, though. She had no idea what she had sat down next to.

Just An Intro

Although I did not grow up in any huge American cities or spend an extreme amount of time living in what most would consider a "big city" environment, I did, nevertheless, grow up in an urban setting. By far the most interesting facet of that setting has been my experiences on the public buses. I have ridden the bus for almost 20 years now and the people, adventures, and rather interesting circumstances I have found myself in have been entertaining, frightening, and memorable to say the very least. So, I decided to share with you all what some of those have been. Hope you enjoy!
Also, I decided this would be a nice outlet for sharing other experiences or adventures I might have had. If you could call me anything it would have to be different. I would venture to say that I am not unique in my upbringing or my experiences, but I am most assuredly different. That can be a good thing and a bad thing, but it is me no matter what. I can promise you stories that will make you laugh, shake your head in wonder and perhaps even draw from you a tear or two, but whatever the case may be I hope they will at least offer you some diversion from your everyday norm.