Hi people of Whyville:
I live in a big city. I'm from an island, where time went slower and people bothered to know each other, but it isn't so here.
In the city, people are rude and tired.
Smiles are rare. People have too little time to care about others.
Being from an island, I can watch this from the side and observe just how much a busy schedule can take out of life.
People are so rushed, cramming things into their calendars, that they don't have time to stop and appreciate the little things in life, like a good meal, or how beautiful the sky is, or daydream.
My mother witnessed this display of rudeness on a bus:
There was a lady with a large filing box, too big to hold it and keep her balance at the same time. No one got up to offer her a seat, so she put the box down one of the two doorways (the one that people usually leave through), and held on to the railing instead.
On one stop, she apologized to a younger man for blocking his way.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold it up." (Or something close to this).
The young man, who was already outside, looked at her and started cursing for all he was worth.
