Sunday, May 22, 2016

A day without leg room



Usually at this point of the day, I'm ready for a nap.  Nothing major, mind you.  Sometimes it's no more than an 'eye rest'.  Usually it clocks in at 15 minute of couch-time slumber.  (From the start of my retirement, I forbade myself to take naps in the bedroom.)

As you can see from the accompanying photo, I'm not well positioned for snoozing.  I suppose, in a rude mood, I could stretch my right leg into the aisle, but as soon as I did so, a fellow passenger sitting in front of me would want to use the rest room located at the back end of the bus.  And that's not my kind of rude mood anyway. (Which, of course, begs a question that I'm not going to answer.)

Right now, though, I'm too wired to sleep, which I hope won't also be the case during our overnight, just under 8-hour flight, when I'm likely to have the same amount, I.e., lack of leg room that Van Galder offers at the moment.

At the Janesville stop, an older couple boarded the bus with their Chatty Cathy, preschool-aged granddaughter.  I steeled myself for a bumpy ride as she loudly shared her every observation

"Here's some seats," she announced triumphantly, pointing to the two in front of us.

Please no, I silently, earnestly pleaded.

Fortunately, the trio needed an open row of 4 seats across, which were available further back.

"Oh, there's a TV," she squealed, excitedly pointed to one of the small monitors attached to the overhead storage units .  "Can we watch TV, Papa?"

For the moment, it was a passably cute display of enthusiasm, but it would have worn thin before our South Beloit stop.  

Earbuds, of course, would have helped if the girl's vocalizing continues, but "Papa", fortunately, has been very attentive to his little darling. 

But I've never been much of an earbuds kinda guy. And I didn't bother to pack an 'emergency' pair.


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