That's a Lot of Friendship

With a subtitle of: Sleeping Sitting Up 😊

After an accidental small "win" during my next-to-last overnight Greyhound Bus trip [read: sleeping time] where, because I happened to be sitting in one of the last seats toward the bus's back end, I sprawled out over both of the seats on the side of the bus where I'd been sitting. I curled up &, since I had this packed in my carry-on, & therefore accessible & out, I had it wrapping me up - for an added bonus, I also tossed it over my face & head enough to block out the lighting the bus offered, especially when it would stop for its few short breaks.

I learned, from a nearby passenger, that whenever our bus would reach a stop at a station & pick up one or two more passengers, & they'd walk all the way to the back of the bus & see me (& there was one other passenger who'd done the same as I did right behind me), they'd turn & pick to sit with the next passenger over who didn't have someone sitting immediately next to them; essentially the two of us sleeping curled up, taking up two seats each, were left alone to continue our slumber.

This was an immense win & total turn of events from my near frozen-first-night post (click here). To top it off, the following night, when I realized the final overnight bus ride would be a full load of passengers, & that there'd be no way to replicate my previous night's curled-up-slumber.

A gregarious one, I chatted with a few passengers also waiting for their bus while at the final station as there was a nearly forty-five minute layover. In doing so, a highly anxious female inquired with me about her ticket. She was certain that her next bus, because her next layover was one in the same with my final destination, that we would be riding on the same bus. I couldn't confirm that & highly encouraged her to speak with a station associate. Somewhere in that process another passenger got her even more anxious.

Then I checked with a station associate in order to confirm in exactly which boarding line I belonged. I was so excited to board, I at first didn't get into the correct line. 😏😅 Whoops! 😂 I then got myself into the appropriate single-file line & happened to find myself behind a young man headed back to Ireland who'd spent the past three months as the oldest counselor (& definitely the tallest too! He was super tall!) at a kids camp. He'd already aged out as a counselor, yet since it was the final summer he had, post college graduation, he'd been awarded one more final opportunity to be with the camp's kids.

He introduced me to the line-up of these, handmade from these he wore on his lower left forearm. He knew the name of each child who'd made him one, & which one they'd made; he knew each child's story. It was amazing also, because obviously he could've told me anything, made up a likely name for each bracelets creator; he could've even actually just bought these, yet he didn't.

It was genuinely apparent that he did not. That each was made through a process where he made them one, & in turn, they made him one. They may have even picked out the colors & patterns they'd use together. Just like a snowflake, no two could stories, or children, could possibly be the same.

He'd genuinely loved his role as camp counselor & expressed sincere gratitude for spending the additional, final Summertime with his given role.

Sometime after we'd chatted about the purpose of our journeys, we dozed off. Well, he managed to. As tall as he was, over in the window seat, he managed to slouch in such a way that he was out rather quickly. I, on the other hand, overall enjoying the freedom the aisle seat can provide, also had to concern myself with not falling off the seat. That's because the seat my new Irish friend had selected, the one where I'd followed him feeling confident that in sitting next to him, I'd be with good company, happened to be a seat where the aisle's armrest simply wasn't there. So I was comfortable, I just had to pay a different kind of attention whenever the bus moved in certain ways.

After struggling for well over an hour, possibly much longer, I found myself dozing out enough by process of leaning over, my hands & forearms braced on my quadriceps & my head using my hands & forearms as a pillow. It sounds weird, yet it actually worked! And that truly is the most important part!

When we'd woken up due to the driver announcing our arrival in the town (which was my final destination) my Irish seat partner talked about how, when he'd woken for a moment & seen how I was sleeping, he was surprised. I told him I felt the same about how he'd managed to sleep, & so well, being so lengthy & next to the window.

Alas, I was so excited to finally be in my town-of-great-familiarity that I didn't even need help yanking my carry-on from the overhead (the handle on it tended to continue getting caught & be difficult to budge).

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