Standing On a Bus Stop...

Ok, so obviously today isn't October 11th, but i did come out this morning...on the bus stop.

there's one guy on the bus stop (it's usually just he and i), with whom i share the barest of discourse. i'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, but he is. every morning he's bright eyed and chipper and loud and very very very straight. he's like Uber-Hetero. y'know what i mean? he's a union electrician or maybe a carpenter and he's very...well...manly. he's got big calloused hands (we bump fists every morning! can you stand it!?); he calls me "Dave" or "Bro" and i almost don't mind; he talks about football (i nod and smile) and his kids. oh yeah, he also spits. uh huh, spits...alot. now most people would find this revolting (especially before coffee), but i actually find it endearing and (if i can share a little secret with you) i'm a little jealous. when i try to spit, it kind dribbles down my lip into my goatee and i look like a post-coital lesbian. in short he's that straight guy that i'd usually try and avoid because i'm sure they'd beat me up in HS.

anyway, i see him every morning and a few weeks ago he told me that he has to have a total-hip-replacement because of an accident he had gotten into a few years ago, and he's been putting it off because he's scared that it means he'll be out of work for a really long time (a year) while it heals and that it would drive him nuts because he plays football and softball etc. well, i asked stephen (since this is his sort of thing) and he gave me some info to pass on to him (it should take a month or two if he's a very active/in-shape guy).

well, this morning he and i were chatting while waiting for the bus, and we got around to his leg. he told me he was scared again so i figured i'd tell him what i knew. before i could stop myself, i said "My boyfriend's a Physical Therapist and he said...". well, Straight Guy did a double take and said "you're boyfriend?". and i was like...um...yeah...waiting for him to deck me or something. instead, he was like "wow that's great! if i had to be laid up for more than a couple of months i'd fuckin die!". he kept thanking me profusely and then we got on the bus and went to different seats. later, before he got off, he clapped me on the shoulder, and thanked me again.

i was a little floored at his nonchalance. don't ask me why, but i really expected him to behave differently. so much for stereotypes, huh?