Lesson re-learned from Marta

Matt and I decided to try and save money and take Marta to the airport, so we didn't have to park our cars there. Some wonderful people in our Small Group, thanks Loving's and Tabor's, volunteered to drive us to and form the station, so we didn't have to pay to leave our car there either.

So, on our way back home riding Marta, I realized why I don't really love public transportation.Matt and I got on and sat right down, close to the door. We were sitting on seats that ran parallel to Marta, so we were facing the other side of the bus.We were at the end of a row that was forward facing, so we had seats that were almost touching ours. So we are chatting, minding our own business, and this man comes and sits in those seats that are so close to us, his leg is almost touching mine, he is that close. Mind you, this man got on, sat right next to someone, when there were plenty of seats, and then moved further back in the bus, then came to sit by us. So he was very ancy, and I had already noticed this, which made me a little uncomfortable already. when ppl act strange on Marta, it makes me nervous b/c you just never know what is up.

So he immediately starts talking and I feel like I should at least be polite.So he starts asking us if we are from the area, where we came from, we had our luggage, etc. So I did most of the talking, not sure why, but now I wish Matt had. I nodded a bunch, did this funny laugh and basically whatever else to make sure this man didn't think I was being rude, b/c I had no idea what he could have been up too or why he sat right by us. So this chit chat continued and he proceeded to tell me he had just come back from overseas, with some branch of the military. Which he had no bags with him and he wasn't dressed in uniform, so I now find this hard to believe. So he keeps asking questions, and finally we get to his stop.

He stands up, leaves and mutters something, like "Have a good one", on his way out.so, whew he was gone, but then immediately I look over at Matt and with these big eyes, he say's "Honey", because of how much I was talking to the man and telling him, i.e, what I do, that we were from ATL, etc. Although I never told him the name of my work or anything specific at all, like that. I said, "Next time I am going to let you do all the talking." But I felt uncomfortable, and knew this guy would know that, if I sat there quiet and didn't respond to anything he asked.

But after he left I realized that our names were on our luggage tags, with a phone number on one, but it's a cell, so that didn't bother me. But the fact that he could have looked at the name and found out where we lived or who knows what. So then I got worried and kept asking Matt if he thought the man noticed it. Matt was re-assuring and said he probably hadn't even been able to read them very well.

Needless to say, my lesson learned from Marta is to be careful at how much information you give to strangers, as if I didn't know this, but needed to be reminded. Especially in this day and age you just never know what someone is up to, and it might be nothing, but you just can't take a chance.