The Bum

It was the busiest hour of the day, and I was in a hurry. All around me were speeding cars, impatient drivers within honking their horns in succession.

Rush hour is so stressful. During rush hour, everyone is in the same boat; they all want to get somewhere, and they want to get there fast. But they all fail to recognize that none of them are any different from the others. And if they would all just be a little more considerate towards one another, the traffic might not be so bad. Everyone would be happier.

But, what are ya gonna do? I must admit, the idea of slowing down and actually thinking this thing through doesn’t seem the least bit attractive to me, either. It’s just so much easier to speed along, perhaps even knowing that you’re only making the problem worse. People are selfish, and there’s nothing anybody can do to change that, right?

The thickly scattered city buildings around me were becoming more and more thin. Thank God, I would be getting on the country road soon. Good old route 32, always a breeze.

I was heading for country restaurant called The Eatery. Creative, huh? No, I wasn’t going to see the country scenery. And no, I wasn’t going for a tasty mashed potato (well maybe). I was going for business purposes, going to discuss sales with my boss, Fred, and his boss, Mr. Mulinger, over a warm meal. Sigh, they wanted it to seem like a nice little outing where we would all have fun and get things done. But there was always tension in the salesman life. So much to do, all the time. It’s the kind of job that just keeps on demanding more, and more, and more . . .

The main city road split into three sections, the left one was route 32. I put on my turn signal, and wheezed down the ramp, leaving the tight world and entering the loose one.

Ah, it was so relaxing. Nothing but trees and grass as far as the eye could see. But, I was in a hurry, so I tried to ignore them. Not that enjoying the woodland scenery would slow me down in the least, but . . .well I just had to ignore them, that’s all.

The first car I’d seen in minutes passed on the left. The driver was sitting rigid as a pole, staring straight ahead with dull eyes. It was at that moment that I noticed I was sitting in quite the same manner. I tried to relax, but for some reason it was easier to use more energy and keep my body tight, like the world of the city. Weird, huh?

Up ahead I noticed a lone figure wearing scraggly clothing walking alongside the road. When I got closer I could see that he was holding his thumb out. Now what I did next is most unusual. I’m really not quite sure why I did it, especially in the hurry I was in (not that I’m not always in a hurry), but I’ve just always had a soft spot for homeless people. Bums, hoboes, whatever you wanna call them. They need to get around too, right? And this guy was obviously a bum. So, you can guess what happened next; I pulled over and opened the passenger door.

I had expected to see a rather worn looking figure step in, a body that matched the decrepit clothing I had made out at a distance. But when the bum from the sat down beside me and looked over at me, I saw the face of a loose person.