9. Bag Lady

Lesson: Just get out of the way.

Today I had an encounter with a woman I will call the Bag Lady. I don't see her often, but when I do it is always on the 33 Line. The 33 line starts/ends on the outskirts of the city and goes through The Mission. The Mission is home to a lot of homeless people. S.F. in general is home to a lot of homeless people, but they gather in certain areas such as the Mission.

The first time I had an encounter with the Bag Lady is when she walked on the bus without paying.

Side story: Most bus drivers are not timid and usually aren't afraid to confront somebody who doesn't pay. One time I was on a bus and the bus driver told a man to get off the bus because he didn't pay. After the man cursed the bus driver out and called him a whole bunch of derogatory names he said he would blow up the bus if the bus driver didn't drive. I'm sure official protocol would have been for the bus driver to take the threat seriously and evacuate the bus. The bus driver wasn't having it that day- he had a schedule to keep. The bus driver got out of his seat and told the man to get off his bus. The man left, and merrily we all went along.

Back to the Bag Lady. She came on to the bus- without paying- and sat directly across from me. She preceded to talk to herself and didn't bother anyone. The bus driver was probably just used to her.

Beautiful Mural in the Mission

The next time I saw her was when I was in The Mission waiting for the 33. A male and female couple were sitting at the stop with there groceries at their feet. The Bag Lady was rambling, but the female was trying to hold a conversation with her. I know she was trying to be nice, but that was one really pointless conversation. The bus arrived and the Bag Lady grabbed the couples groceries. I was really curious to see how the couple were going to get their groceries back from the Bag Lady. As the 3 of them walked towards bus, the woman simply grabbed her groceries out of the Bag Lady's hand and got on the bus and went about her day.

Today, the 33 arrived on time. The doors open and I saw that nobody was getting off. The steps were as far as I got. As I began to turn to find a seat the Bag Lady was blocking the entire aisle. I couldn't get to a seat. I tried to go around her, but she was blocking the walkway. She mumbled something under her breath and then she clearly said, "Get out my way or I will hit the bus driver." What did I do? I got out the way. I literally got off the bus and was about to enter through the backdoor. Bag Lady got off the bus, and then I got on. I went to work, and she roamed around my neighborhood. I was glad I made sure I closed the garage before I left.