Ducks...

There's a group of developmentally disabled adults that work down the street from my house and who get on the bus at around the same time I do. I see some of them more than others, but I've seen all of them often enough to get a sense of their personalities. There's one guy who can be kind of a dick. He's got severe anger managment issues, and I've seen him go off on people before in a way that makes me dislike him a little. Plus, he bullies this woman named Sonya, who I love. I'm not sure what she has, but she's in a wheelchair and has enough muscle control issues that it may be advanced MS. She's a hoot and a half. She has difficulty talking, but not communicating. We chat whenever we see each other, and she has got the sunniest, sweetest, feistiest grin. And she hates the fuck out of this guy. Those two have gotten into some epic battles on the bus. He's "higher functioning" than she is, and uses that to his full advantage, mocking her with faces and words. She, however, has an incredibly salty vocabulary at her disposal when she needs it, and has no compunction telling him to shut the fuck up, loudly and often.

Anyway, I watch these people. I see them interact, and I'm charmed by them. I was on the bus today, and a larger group than normal got on. I've seen all of them before, but rarely together. They quickly established their bonds depending on where they sat. There were a few outcasts, relegated to the back of the bus, and those who sat in the front proceeded to have a boisterous, loud, happy conversation. But one of the guys in the back, an older gentleman who's flirted with me quite often, refused to accept his outcast status. He kept yelling out non sequiters to the ladies in the front. He'd call them by name, over and over, till they turned their head slightly in acknowledgment, and then he'd say something completely random. For instance:
"HEY! HEY CINDY!" repeated 5 times
::head nod::
"I like ducks"
This particular comment spurred a conversation in the front about ducks. About how they all loved ducks too, why they loved ducks, whether or not they loved chickens. There was a consensus that ducks were much nicer to hold, but that chickens were more fun to watch.
I found myself nodding my head in complete agreement, and being tempted to contribute to the conversation. However, since what I wanted to say involved how tasty ducks were, I held back.
But I also wanted to join in because, while it was a very simple conversation, it was a very satisfying one. And I realized that this is why I'm charmed by this group of adults. Because while their interactions seem simple to me, they rarely actually are. They're complex, and brutally honest, and absolutely lacking in artifice. This makes them seem simple, when in reality they're simply dealing with each other and others on a very different plane than I've grown accustomed to.
There was a guy in the back who was disgusted by all the yelling, and sighed loudly and often to show his displeasure. I could hear him Tsking from where I sat in the middle. I wanted to turn around and ask him if he'd ever been that happy, if he thought he ever would be. I'd like to be that happy. I haven't been since I was a child who hadn't yet been infected by the idea of social mores.