Save as draft

There is something really nice about talking to a stranger that has zero background information about you or your life.  You can trash whoever it is you want to trash, tell your version of the story without them having the preamble of what happened, and all they do is nod in agreement. 

Have you ever done that?

It was done to me this morning on the bus to work.  I got on the bus without a tag (again, for the second week).  The bus driver scolded me as I promised to stop paying in cash and buy a weekly ticket.  A couple of ladies eavesdropped on my conversation with the driver, and a young gentleman smiled to make me feel better.  Or maybe he fell in love with me during those ten seconds.  I’m not sure which it is.  I digress.

So I got a seat next to this lady who looked me up and down before I sat, and couldn’t understand why I have a small frame when I had just bought fat cakes from the lady who sells at the stop.  I stashed them away in an already very full lunch box I had packed.  Then she said to me “Se tletsi ne?” while I thought, ah, the ice breaker.  Here we go.  It’s going to be a long bus ride.

I didn’t have my earphones on and I smiled, which made me available for conversation, so it’s my fault I suppose.  This lady told me her life story, or at least the last 6 years of it.  She hates her job and desperately wants to be working somewhere else.  She asked me if I knew whether or not there were vacancies at my workplace, and I didn’t.  I don’t even know the organogram of the company, never mind which spots need filling.  She went on to tell me that her husband was currently without work and that she would quit if she could, but then what would she have for supper?  It is quite a tight spot that this lady is in.  Her working conditions are undesirable and she has people mistreating her. 

I’m not sure where I’m going with this.

Something there is about speaking to someone who won’t judge you (And can’t, really.  On what basis?).  Someone who will agree and not argue.  At times, all a person needs is to be heard and not answered back, because all the thoughts have built up and your brain just wants to clear files.  I was more than happy to sympathise and nod with understanding, squinting my eyes as I felt the emotion in her words.  No, I wasn’t pretending, I actually meant it. 

I suppose the moral of my story is that strangers are sometimes perfect and exactly what the doctor ordered.  But also in line with the story, she referenced God and what she believes about Him. She believes that her situation, although 6 years long, is a temporary one and there will be light at the end of the tunnel, or bus stop.  She was sad that she was unable to do anything after grade 12, because she believes she would be in a much better position to change her situation.  So I'll kill two birds with one stone(read: article) and say: Firstly, go to school if afforded the opportunity.  And after getting that qualification, go to more school.  You can never really know enough.  If you can’t go to school, find R10 and go sit at an internet café and find out how you can, because there is a way.  Secondly, nothing is bad forever; it’s just saved as draft until it can be updated for the better.

I don’t know if you’re in the mood for music with this one, but let’s try:

You Pulled Me Through- Jennifer Hudson

Oh, then I made a cup of coffee when I arrived and the quotes on the sugar satchets were:

1.1      “ If we don’t help each other, who will?” – Barbara Mandrell.

2.2       “To be content with what we possess is the greatest and most secure of riches.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

3.3      “The greatest revelation is stillness.” – Lao-Tzu

The relevance, hey?

Now you know how I take my coffee.

Talk soon,

Ntsa