The OC Transpo bus was full from front to back. All the seats were taken, and people were standing in the aisle.
When the bus pulled up to a stop, a short, quiet woman stood up. But it took her so long to weave her way thru the crowd of people that when she got to the door, it was too late. She pushed on the doors, but they wouldn’t open. The bus began to pull back into the street.
A teenager was standing nearby. Although the quiet woman said nothing, he spoke up for her.
“Excuse me! Excuse me, sir,” he shouted to the driver far in the front of the bus.
“Excuse me! Door, sir,” he shouted louder as the bus continued rolling.
On the second shout, the driver stopped the bus. The quiet woman pushed on the door. The light turned green. The door opened. And she stepped out onto the snow-covered sidewalk.
Where in the world would a teenage boy standing in a crowded city bus do this? Where would a kid shout, “Excuse me!” to speak up for a woman who doesn’t speak up for herself and do it politely? And where in the world would that teenager shout out even louder equally politely when he wasn’t heard the first time?
In Canada.