Barb’s Burblings

I take the bus to work most days, and I can usually get my favorite seat: a bench seat (two seats together), facing the front of the bus. Then, about halfway through the ride, we get to this one stop where this middle-aged man gets on. And he inevitably sits next to me, even when there are plenty of other seats, also facing forward, available. Always. It drives me nuts. I’d sit on the outside seat just to prevent it, except that a) I hate people who do that, and b) I’m generally reading a book and don’t notice that we’re at his stop until it’s too late and it would be totally obvious that I was moving just so he wouldn’t sit next to me.
So this morning I thought I had come up with an answer to why he always sits by me (other than the fact that I appear fairly nonthreatening): It’s because I get off the bus before it hits the end of the line! That must be it! He also likes sitting alone, figured out that I always exit a couple blocks before the final stop, and figured this was a good way to get some alone seat time. Then I realized the problem with that: He never, ever remembers that I need to get off the bus. Even when I’m the one who pulls the cord to request a stop. Dude is oblivious. Even though he winds up sitting next to me at least a few times a week, he still seems surprised when I ask to get past him and leave the bus.
So, yeah, I don’t know. It’s a mystery.