More on the hazards of riding public transportation: Lately, for the most part, people seem to be toning down their mobile phone conversations. They must finally be getting the idea that strangers don’t want to know what they’re having for dinner. Nevertheless, “if you want to live in the Big City,” you have to put up with less than serene surroundings when traveling around town. The latest annoyance occurred the other day when a mountainous man got on the 104 downtown bus with John Williams’s Star Wars theme blaring from what seemed to be a portable radio, although I didn’t look closely. When the theme was repeated—loudly—over and over, I realized that it was his cell phone ringtone. Egad! And his answers to his calls were equally loud. Couldn’t wait for him to get off, which he finally did. Hard to understand the demand for attention that some people who use these devices seem to be displaying. Who wants the attention of total strangers, especially when you must be aware that you’re annoying them? It must be the frustrations of lack of recognition or love in one’s personal life. Or maybe the guy was just hard of hearing (from years of listening to hard rock at full volume, perhaps?).
