Bus Ride: Circa 1970

Daily writing prompt

Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.

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The man boarded the bus moving northeast on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. He wore a simple cotton dress with a basic cardigan. He did not plaster his face with makeup, he may not have worn any at all since a slight shadow of a beard lined his face. He combed his own long hair, forgoing a wig. The dress was far from being a high fashion statement, he probably found it in his great-aunt’s wardrobe. He wore a sensible pair of Mary Janes and not high heels. If he wore jewelry, it was modest and forgettable. He did carry a conservative handbag, one that any middle-aged woman may have clutched to her body.

The passengers on the bus glanced at him, while he eyed us with some frisson of fear mixed with a bit of defiance. Maybe he expected a negative feedback from our group. Perhaps he hoped to archive into his history a brand new reaction from his audience that he never came across before. Instead everyone was silent, not even an eye roll from the small group of riders. I think our non-reaction disappointed him.

He held onto the handrail near the ceiling of the bus and never sat down before exiting after a couple of stops. When he disembarked, someone said, “That was a man!” We all murmured a yes and smiled. Hatred did not permeate the air. Instead our humdrum bus ride came with an unexpected surprise.

The internet did not exist back then, and thereby could not showcase cross dressing. Writing about this topic existed mostly inside of psychology books. No one in my neighborhood cross dressed on the street. Inside the house, I’ll never know. I did not celebrate this man, condemn him, nor slap some narrow definition on him. I got off the bus and got on with my life. Here I am many years later feeling lucky to have run across this man that added another experience to my history.

A few years later in 1974, John Lennon get it right when he sang: “Whatever gets you through the night, (or in my case, the day), it’s all right, it’s all right. . . . Out of the blue or out of sight, it’s all right, it’s all right.”

Horsing Around

Daily writing prompt

How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?

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During the pandemic, I never ordered groceries nor restaurant food from a delivery service. I went to a larger chain store where I could buy a wide selection of food, and made a plan for two or three weeks of meals. Hamburgers and steaks were snatched up by the public, but I had no problem finding frozen fish or Aldi’s chicken sausages. Bags of fresh apples, oranges, and a few fresh vegetables supplemented by canned fruit and vegetables. So now I visit the three or four stores I had frequented before Covid, business as usual once again.

As soon as masks became an option at any place, I took mine off because of one reason: Air. It moves in no particular fashion whether six feet apart or not. Viruses penetrate masks and we all breathe and exhale the same air. I read books about the 1918 flu published before Covid-19 and the consensus was that masks had zero benefit to any wearer during that time. The only mask I would trust is an oxygen mask that provides clean air and not the well-used air surrounding me. Of course this would be so unwieldy an option in both cost and supply that it would be a stupid thing to consider.

As to disinfecting the packages of food entering my house, I never did that. I heard this directive and I thought it was a step too far, perhaps a make-work activity for a time when we were told to stay home. The government ended up telling us later this was a senseless activity after all. If every surface of the earth is deadly to me, then have at me earth, what chance do I have of survival?

I got the Covid shots, got Covid anyway. I didn’t feel very sick, only tired out. I asked my doctor what I needed to do, and he said the advice was to stay home and go to the emergency room if my lips turned blue. Not very reassuring advice after nearly two years of anticipating death around every corner. The media and CDC laughed at the drug Ivermectin that some people swore had helped them. You were an idiot to want to take a horse medication. Recently, the CDC said that Ivermectin is safe for people and has been used to treat human illnesses for many years. They said it helped some people with Covid. Even if that drug or any drug didn’t work on Covid but did not cause harm and acted as a placebo, I may have preferred that instead of checking the color of my lips at every turn. Once again, no change from Covid, just live out your life as best you can.

I bought a new book about viruses that included Covid published during the pandemic. Time proved it had so much misinformation in it I threw it out since I would not donate it anywhere to spew the same old errors. Another book published during the crisis, was labeled as misinformation on the internet and I began to have second thoughts about it. It turned out to have more accurate information than the well-touted, false book.

The government admitted to over estimating the number of people that died from Covid by a rate of 30%. If they are admitting to that, chances are that the number of Covid deaths were much lower. I’ve been out and about as much as I have ever been. (Not that much though, since I’m as much of an introvert as ever.)

So what adaptations? I went back to regular living. I feel just as suspicious about the Powers-That-Be around me and apply lots of grains of salt to whatever I hear or see.

TikTok Capitalism: Is It Evil?

They pray for more views
Influencers for dollars,
Social media
Click lovers spewing much crap
So that squeaky wheel gets grease.