Don't drink and take the bus

I found that there's a good sized section in the Oregon Driver's Manual about drunk driving, and that it also addresses what to do if you have been drinking and need to get home. Some of the options are having a designated driver, taking a cab, and taking public transportation.

I circled the "public transportation" bit with my highlighter and wrote "NO!" Allow me to explain why I think this is a bad idea.

A few years ago I was on my way home from school. I was attempting to do my math homework on the bus, and an obviously inebriated man decided to sit down next to me.

Why oh why did it have to be me? I'm told it's because I'm a young and attractive woman. If only I were a wrinkled old man...

I might not have minded the drunk sitting next to me so much if he had kept quiet. But he decided to tell me that I was doing my math wrong. I told the inebriate that no, I wasn't adding, I was dividing. He admitted that I was correct after all. Then a little bit later he asked "Where are we going?" I told him "I don't know where you're going, but I'm going home." And I tried to make it quite clear that he was not traveling with me.

He wasn't doing any harm at the time, but I was seriously worried that he might try to follow me home and that made me nervous. I made sure that he didn't get off at my stop, and was preparing myself to tell the bus driver that we had a problem if the drunk did try to follow me off. Luckily, he didn't try.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I really don't think that drunks should be taking public transportation. Never mind that I now have a good story to tell. They cause a nuisance, and to be completely honest, I'm not sure that that guy was aware enough of his surroundings to get himself home safely home on the bus. I still wonder what happened to him, and whether he wound up in some random place that he didn't know.