Shut yo' f**kin' a**, n*gg*h !

Spoiler alert! This post has some naughty words in it.

I waited a while before writing this. The situation was very dynamic (i.e., pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action; vigorously active or forceful; energetic).

I was in Las Vegas as a public transit pedestrian for the second time. I never really think of Las Vegas as a place to spend my golden years, but I do think of it as a rather affordable, nearby, and strange place to be when I want to get away. I flew there for free (even brought carry-on luggage) and I opted to travel by bus using the senior discount. A day pass costs somewhere between $2 and $4.50.

This was my last ride. I was going on one bus from the hotel to the airport. The hotel was on the Strip; across the street from the Stratosphere. It's not the hottest neighborhood in town, but there are eateries nearby, other hotels, major bus routes and lots of those tacky wedding places. I got on the bus and I took a seat.

It was a morning ride at about 8:30. The crowd was middle-age to young senior riders. They looked as if they were on their way to work. It was Monday (a non-holiday), very hot (early July) and no one was in good spirits. A disheveled looking African American man boarded with two pieces of rolling stuff. We'll just call it baggage. He didn't have exact change in hand and I'm guessing he didn't have a pass of any sort. So the coins dropped into the hopper, one after one, with no particular rhythm. And while the fare was being oh so slowly collected, but bus remained in position.

One woman who was Middle Eastern (by appearance and accent) removed her mask and began the tirade. "What the f**k is going on? He does this all the f**king time!" She paused. "He should just ask for money and someone will give it to him. This isn't the first time he made the f**king bus stop like this. I'm going to be late for work."

After the coin drop finished, the man began to drag his luggage towards the back of the bus. "You got to pay your fare or you can't ride. If you don't pay, you can't stay." As he continued to look at the seats, people puffed themselves up or blocked the seat next to them. He wound up taking the seat behind the Middle Eastern woman, but in the aisle (she was seated near the window).

Then he began to tell of his tale of woe. How he was poor. How he lived on the street. How nobody saw him except when he was on the bus and when they did see him, they'd make a point of expressing their disgust at seeing him. But he kept on talking.

Finally, a younger African American sitting next to me just blew up and shouted, "Shut yo' f**kin' a**, n*gg*h!"

My blue state, socialistic p.c. sensibilities and sensitivities got aroused. Was I going to say something to the person sitting next to me? Did he have a right to be annoyed by this person's ranting? Did I have the right to say whose freedom of speech had a higher value?

I just detached myself. I saw someone who looked 80-ish in a security jacket (with gold star on the sleeve) get off the bus. He carried a liter of water and one of those folding tripod chairs. The one who called the poor man n*gg*h also got off. The Middle Eastern woman (who was wearing a mask and only removed it to curse) also left before me, muttering something like, "This is the last time you will make me late to work you f**king piece of sh*t!"

It was then that I decided that Las Vegas would probably not make the list of places to spend my golden years.