# The Little Old Man on the Bus **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989 "2018-05-11T13:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/1 "2018-05-11T13:26:58Z")
An old man got my bus. I saw he was stooped and grey, and walked with a shuffle in his step. His hand shook a little as he grasped the railings on the backs of the seats He saw someone he knew sitting near me, and he called greetings to him as he eased himself down across from me. They talked about not having much to do. But the old man had something interesting to tell his friend. “Didja hear it on the radio?” he asked in a bright happy voice. His friend said he didn’t listen to the radio lately. The old man was glad to share the news: “Gene Simmons is releasing some new KISS recordings!! He’s got, like, thousands of them stashed in his vault!!” God. I feel so old. :(:(☹ ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/2 "2018-05-11T14:40:22Z")
KISS was the first band I saw live; I was 12 back in 1975 and saw them just after\* Rock and Roll all Night\* became a bit hit. Not sure how I got permission to go to the show. My strongest memory is that it was very loud. I’m turning 55 this year, not quite the stooped or grey but I have my old man moments. On the other hand, I’m not interested in KISS music these days. Gene Simmons is 68. Peter Criss is 72! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/3 "2018-05-11T14:43:25Z")
The average age of the Rolling Stones is 73.5. The average age of the US Supreme Court is 68.5. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/4 "2018-05-11T15:22:44Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > KISS was the first band I saw live; I was 12 back in 1975 and saw them just after\* Rock and Roll all Night\* became a bit hit. Not sure how I got permission to go to the show. My strongest memory is that it was very loud. > > I’m turning 55 this year, not quite the stooped or grey but I have my old man moments. On the other hand, I’m not interested in KISS music these days. > > Gene Simmons is 68. Peter Criss is 72! 🙂 Hey, me too. Except 1977. Heart opened up the show. Quite the concert. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/5 "2018-05-11T18:10:29Z")
Rock on, Little Old Man! Max Rebennack has a closet like that, too. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/6 "2018-05-11T18:20:35Z")
The writing style in those first two paragraphs (of the OP) is evocative of someone, I just cannot think whom. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/7 "2018-05-11T18:35:05Z")
Sounds like the beginning of one of those **Chicken Soup for the Soul** things. “And the little old man turned out to be …Adolph Hitler!!” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/8 "2018-05-11T19:24:12Z")
If I say it in Stuart McClean’s laconic drawl, it sounds right. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/9 "2018-05-11T19:34:10Z")
I’ve posted this before: the classic rock station I listen to, which plays bands like KISS, runs ads for reverse mortgages, which are available to homeowners 62 or older. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/10 "2018-05-11T20:21:24Z")
At least the old man didn’t waggle his tongue lasciviously after making his announcement. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/11 "2018-05-11T21:01:50Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’ve posted this before: the classic rock station I listen to, which plays bands like KISS, runs ads for reverse mortgages, which are available to homeowners 62 or older. That’s just mean. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/12 "2018-05-11T21:05:16Z")
Many years ago my cousin and I paid a compulsory visit to our grandpa in the nursing home and they had some kind of horrible piped in music (I think it might have been “Listen to the Mockingbird” at the moment we left). My cousin said, “When it’s our turn they’ll be piping in Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin.” A thought that amused us both. But not KISS, oh please. Please, not KISS. Damn, it will probaby be KISS. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/13 "2018-05-11T21:32:54Z")
[old person song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pObpIyLP61w) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/14 "2018-05-11T21:53:54Z")
Maybe the little old man wasn’t all that old. Maybe that’s just what you end up looking like if you party ever-yday. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/15 "2018-05-11T22:08:07Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > My cousin said, “When it’s our turn they’ll be piping in Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin.” A thought that amused us both. I’ve heard the Clash’s “Lost in the Supermarket” being played in the supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/16 "2018-05-11T22:11:43Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Many years ago my cousin and I paid a compulsory visit to our grandpa in the nursing home and they had some kind of horrible piped in music (I think it might have been “Listen to the Mockingbird” at the moment we left). Were the Three Stooges there? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/17 "2018-05-11T22:45:31Z")
No, just the two of us. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/18 "2018-05-12T01:07:39Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > No, just the two of us. Who, you and Grover Washington, Jr.? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/19 "2018-05-12T02:09:50Z")
I’m loading the pistol now… Wait. I don’t have one. One of my best life choices–I looked at the one I built from a kit and said, “I’d never fire a gun I built.” I may be self-destructive, sometimes suicidal, but I have my standards. For something to make y’all feel better, here’s [A Millennial Looks at 'Don’t Fear the Reaper](https://youtu.be/3YGBapcLSsY), I had a laugh at him trying to figure out BOC lyrics, but didn’t have the heart to scream, “IT’S ABOUT A SUICIDE PACTS, YOU MORONS!” They like to think they are fucked up, but they’ve never talked to a Boomer. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989/20 "2018-05-12T04:11:10Z")
It needs more cowbell. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-old-man-on-the-bus/813989.md?page=2)