Grrrr. People.

So I taking the bus to work today. For me, that entails about a 15 minutes layover in downtown Minneapolis. Now, there's a guy that I often see on the leg from Mpls to St. Louis Park; he gets off at the same stop that I do and he always has his bike. Even today. In the snow. And -8 degrees Farenheit. We start chatting. He complains that it took him an hour to get to Mpls from Lakeville. "Oh, Lakeville, eh? Which bus do you take?" "The 477." "Really, I thought that started at the Apple Valley Transit Station." "It does, I live several blocks south of the Apple Valley Transit Station, on the other side of the Apple Valley/Lakeville border."

Now I live about a half mile west of the Apple Valley Transit Station. So two complete strangers discover that they live about 2 miles apart and work about a half mile apart, despite the fact that work and home are about 30 miles apart.

But that's not the reason for the above-mentioned Grrrr.

So we're talking and fail to notice that our bus has pulled up until most of the people waiting have already boarded. We jump. I go straight for the bus, while my partner in inattention has to get his bike from the rear of the shelter. Because of this, as I get on the bus, I comment that there is someone coming with a bike. However, as I say this, I look through the windshield and see that he is already placing his bike on the bike rack on the front bumper. The driver apperently thinks I'm being a smart aleck. "You think I can't see that guy. Give me some credit. I mean I'm not blind. etc etc etc." I am not able to explain my situation before my momentum carries me back to a seat. However, when we reach my stop, I make a point to get up by the door a little early so I can explain to the driver that I was only trying to help a fellow rider because I thought he would take longer than he actually did. Her response: "He's a big boy, don't you think he can take care of himself?"

The sentiment behind that statement right there is, in my mind, a major problem in our culture. As a people, we are so proud that the idea, not even that we need help or assistance, but that help is even offered is considered to be an insult to the person's ability or competence. In many cases, we have difficult accepting assistance, and because of that, we hesitate to offer it. Just about everyone wants to help each other out, but few are graciously accepting of that help. I think that this also creates a sense that help others makes the helper superior to the helped. Hence even those that do help others feel that they can't or shouldn't accept help themselves. It's just wrong.