Observation of a man on the bus and his plight

"I don't know. People are different here. They don't want to talk to you."

"I know. You don't have to tell me!"

The first one is a loquacious man who seems to ride the bus a lot, or I happen to be on the bus with him by coincidence.  He is not one of the regulars who I see on my way to work, but randomly.

They went on to discuss a problem he'd been having with a woman.

"I mean, we weren't in a relationship."

"OK. Do you have a job? A J. O. B.?"

"No I don't, Ma'am."

"There you go.  Some people don't want to hear the truth, but I am going to say it."

He had also mentioned that he heard voices on the bus saying she was betraying him, or something like that.  The two discussed relationships for the entire bus ride, that and the problem with Columbus people wanting to stay to themselves (I was thinking, "That's right!").  She analyzed his problem and suggested that the women he was "just friends" with may have been afraid of her boyfriend, but didn't want to tell him that's the reason she was keeping her distance from him. "It don't work like that!" she emphatically stated.

I remember on another bus ride the same man talking about women.  He said "They like to be pampered."

Because he has transmitted his inner thoughts so constantly and completely on the bus, I feel like I have gained some knowledge of his worldview, particularly in regard to women.

• Desiring their loyalty (though not able to admit that).
• Not seeing his lack of a job a particularly relevant factor by insisting that "It wasn't a relationship (which he repeated to the lady several times."
• Seeing women as needing a lot of time, care, resources (for the pampering).  

I feel like these are actually commonly held perceptions, particularly among men, or among those with a very traditional worldview.  Also, the defense mechanism of denying there was a desire for a relationship somehow releases him from the obligation to better himself - very interesting. . .