Yes, I'm kinda a red head.

This event took place January of 2009. I have a theory when it comes to riding the bus, if the bus isn’t full but you think it might be just sit by someone that looks sane. It’s a fairly basic safety precaution that should not be underestimated.
On this particular day I was on my way to work, I had just hopped on the bus which was, for the most part, vacant. Myself, about three other riders, and the driver. The bus wasn’t going to leave for about another five minutes, and in this time it started to pile up. I don’t know where the extras came from, but they came in a very long line.
I’m sitting there while they’re filing on, hoping that I can somehow land a normal person. What I got was anything but. I literally thought when I saw this woman, “Please, not me”. Low and behold who does she decide to sit by? That’s right, yours truly.
Let me paint you a picture, large (you know what I mean), frizzy dyed red hair pulled back in a black scrunchy, some kind of a purple cardigan which I lovingly refer to as “the purple carpet”, tight black pants and tennis shoes to add a little somethin’ extra to the outfit.
As she sits down she started out on the edge of seat but it did not take her long to scoot in. Now I’m a thin person, and I understand my obligation to utilize that but I can only do so much. Soon enough she had taken her seat fully and a good percentage of mine as well. Staring out the window I was cursing my luck and while doing so I noticed with my peripheral that she’s gazing at me. I pulled my vision away from the outside scenery, for she had finally taken a break from looking at me. Yet again my curiosity got the better of me, and I just had to take a better look at this creature who was causing my discomfort.
Sure enough, while looking over at her she glanced at me and we made eye contact, which to a crazy person is an unmistakable invitation to engage.
“Hi”, she said. Her voice was a tad nasally and a bit gravelly.
“Hi”, I said and looked away quickly knowing that this was only the beginning. We rode in silence for a few more seconds, when she then asked, “Are you a red head?”
This is a surprisingly valid question from a crazy, my hair color has been under debate for years. To some I’m a blonde, to some I’m a red head, so I just go by strawberry blonde, but I don’t deny any of the previous titles.
“Kinda”, I replied.
“Kinda”, she repeated.
I nodded my head a little.
“My sister married a red head.”, she says with raised eyebrows and a look that said something along the lines that she was in the know about us red heads.
“Oh really.”, I said with a look of bewilderment. Imagine that, there are people out there who have sisters that get married to red heads. It really can happen.
We had probably been sitting and riding the bus no longer than 5 minutes, and there was absolutely no way I was going to take 15 more minutes of being crammed up against the bus window, even if it meant me having to pull the emergency exit handle.
We rode a little while longer in silence, when she turned to me and asked about my thoughts about the flooding that had just recently occurred in our city.
“Well, you know, I was out of town for that, but I know it was a real problem for others.” I said with a certain professionalism, I’m a regular Sarah Palin.
“Yeah”, she said, and then looked forward with a smirk, relishing in her success of a conversation.
Alright, I really can’t move and now more or less we’re cuddling. I promised myself that if she didn’t get off within the next 3 stops, that I would. Yeah, I know was on my way to work, but by this point I didn’t care. I’d just call in and explain that there was a situation that involved my bus ride going awry.
Thankfully, she got off on the second stop and was replaced by quiet small woman, leaving me to enjoy the rest of my bus ride.
From this story I have inherited the phrase, “Are you a red head?” which I through out there every now and then. Who knows, maybe on day I’ll ask someone else on the bus if they’re a red head, just to keep things interesting.