Miss Manners on the City Bus

I got a little bit of a stomach bug that has me up at almost one in the morning. So I thought Id write a blog post. I had to go to an appointment today sleep deprived and not feeling so well. So the world to me seemed pretty loud and just too much. I wanted my bed and some nice long documentary to see me through. Well on the bus on the way home from what felt like a very long day. I sat next to an elderly women dressed in a bright yellow suit . She seemed elegant and almost from another time. It was nice she was quiet and I was too we seemed to mutually understand that we wanted a relaxing trip to our destination. Which if your familiar with public transit isn't always indeed the case. I was reading emails on my phone when a gentleman and his wife were talking very loudly. He was using the F bomb as a adjective. Yes this is New England but I think it was more his negativity that was annoying most of us.  I was so tired that his voice and negativity just pierced through me like a knife. The women beside me who had been silent turned to him and said . " There are a bunch of women around you, you keep using cuss words could I kindly ask you to stop"   The man responded with vibrato " This is america and I have freedom of speech , and my mother raised me to take no sh*t from anyone"  I was thinking didn't she teach you to respect your elders and manners.

 Not that I'm perfect I have used the f bomb freely. I know as an american he had a right to say it as much as he wanted. Yet isn't there a common regard for manors. She continued to plead her case she did it in this 1940's way of speaking . I knew she'd get nowhere for it was his sheer ignorance that she was up against. The experience stuck with me how could anyone be that cruel to an old women. She had asked nicely even some of the shadiest characters on the bus would have apologized and watched it. Even though we are in an age of technology. Do you think manors are a dying art form ?  What would you have done if an older lady had asked you to watch your language ?  I still think that please and thank you are indeed magic words. What do you think of manners in our modern society ?