AUBREEVISION - Observations from the far side of the dial

Freaky times on the way home from work tonight. Transferred buses as per usual, and made my way to a seat. The bus was quite full so I took one of the few remaining spots. After several minutes I noticed that the man sitting next to me was muttering strangely to himself, saying "Hello, hello, hello" more to himself than to anyone else and cackling oddly. After a while he stood up and switched seats for no apparent reason, which I also found rather odd. Curious, I stole a glance at his face -- and realized it was Creep 2.

This is the third time I've encountered Creep 2 on the bus, which in itself is a little bizarre -- Ottawa is small, but not that small. And what are the chances that of all the buses on that route and all the seats on each bus, I'd pick the one beside him? Cosmic conspiracy theories aside, tonight confirmed that he's a few steaks short of a BBQ, whereas previous encounters left me unsure if he was certifiable or just garden-variety creepy. I wonder what made him switch seats -- maybe he caught a whiff of my post-gym shift odor and got turned off. Here's hoping.

It's people, meaning men, like Creep 2 who make me wish I had a cheap gold wedding band on hand for such emergencies. An air of wedded bliss might be just the deterrent the doctor ordered. I hate that some men feel justified in intimidating women; I hate that a stranger on a bus can make me afraid. I've tried to explain to some men what the fear of walking alone at night tastes like, or my anger when a total stranger feels he has the right to make sexual remarks about my body. Even my dear sweet honey doesn't quite grasp it, and how could he? He's never seen life from a woman's perspective. Case in point: one day I was walking down the street and a man started riding his bike alongside me, making comments on my "tight little ass." Eric didn't understand why it bothered me so much, so I asked him to imagine a woman making those comments to him. He laughed a bit and said it would be no big deal; in fact, a small part of him would be flattered. This left me speechless. But later on I figured out the difference between our real and hypothetical scenarios: generally speaking, he has nothing to fear from her. When a woman's harassed by a man, however, part of her tells herself it's just stupid comments...and part of her is terrified he'll follow and sexually assault her.

It bears mention that this isn't an attack on the male species -- just the few bad apples who tarnish the bushel.

But I'm tangenting...I'm home and safe and Creep 2 is probably just that, a dime-a-dozen creep. Another odd characteristic, though -- he never seems to have anything with him. Where does he go on the bus? If he's going to or from work or school, or running errands, shouldn't he have the appropriate accoutrements -- briefcase, bookbag, shopping bags? The plot thickens...