Each day, when I step on the bus to go home from work, I put on my lovely smile and offer a friendly, “hello,” to whichever bus driver happens to be driving that day. My courtesies are generally acknowledged with a friendly smile or a “howdy,” or “hello.” There is one particular withered old fellow who always responds, “O-kay.”
“Hello.”
“O-kay.”
Next day.
“Hello.”
“O-kay.”
Day after that.
“Hi!”
“O-kay.”
What does he mean okay?? What is OKAY?! Does he mean he's okay? Does he mean, I'm okay? Does he mean, “Okay, let's get going,” or “Okay, now shut up and sit down”? What is this “okay”!!!
This very taunting question tormented me for weeks near to the point of insanity. No matter what I say, his response is always, “O-kay.” Hello – okay. Good afternoon – okay. Good day – okay! After racking my brain and searching my soul wondering what I might possibly be doing wrong, I got to thinking, maybe it's all just a misunderstanding. Maybe I'm just saying the wrong thing. So the next day, I stepped on the bus, and here was this withered old man again. Kindly, I said
“Hi, how're you doing?”
“O-kay.”
The next day, I offered
“How's your wife?”
“O-kay.”
The next day, I inquired
“How did dinner sit with you last night?”
“O-kay.”
Next day, I had bought a chili dog after work, and I was still scarfing it down when the bus arrived.
“Mind if I finish this on the bus?” I asked.
“O-kay.”
With the elections coming up, I decided I wanted a more seasoned person's opinion to help determine how I should vote. So last week I asked him
“Are you for legalizing marijuana?”
“O-kay.”
“All right, well what about other drugs like speed, heroine, cocaine?
“O-kay.”
So this guy was scaring me. So I asked
“Would you allow a dog to babysit a one-year-old child?”
“O-kay.”
“Would you drive this bus in front of a moving train?”
“O-kay.”
“Mind if I call the cops?
“O-kay.”
Old people. Not so wise as they're cracked up to be.
- Carly
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