I’m working at an essay on an early Greyhound about to depart Washington for New York City. All of a sudden, the driver stands up. “Close those hatches, folks. That stuff is going to jump out on you,” he says.
Despite the groggy hour, passengers pop up to stuff in their duffel bags and coats and close the gap-toothed smile of the overhead compartments. Soon, we’re packed in and speeding toward the land of fast walkers and clipped talkers.
Later, I started wondering—did the passengers do that because the driver made such a convincing argument? Or would a simple “Close the hatches, please” have sufficed? Continue reading
Rhea Kennedy Morgenstern, writer 