Despite tens or even hundreds of years of tradition requiring them to do so, two Luxembourg City bus drivers failed to wave when they drove past each other.
The near total collapse of social order occurred on Thursday morning in Howald when bus 28 drove past bus 29. The drivers made eye contact, but neither lifted a hand or even a finger, according to stunned witnesses.
“They saw each other, no doubt about that,” said passenger Thomas Hoedemaker. “They looked right into each other’s eyes.”
Yet no sooner than their connection began to be forged, the bond was shattered by their failure to follow through and wave,”explains passenger Sasha Moer. “And the universe is a colder, darker place for it.”
“Children were crying,” she added. “I saw at least three pensioners grimace in pain, and although they did not speak, I could feel them lament, ‘why, oh why is this happening?’”
So far, neither the bus drivers nor a representative from the VDL bus line have offered an explanation, but commuters as well as every man, woman, and child in the Grand Duchy deserve answers. Who let this happen? And why?
Although outsiders, cynics, and those lacking respect tradition might claim that a single act of neglecting to wave isn’t going to hurt anyone, in the world of bus drivers and those who respect their chosen line of work, it is a big deal.
“It’s the way it is, the way it has always been, and the way it will always be,” said Claude Pokadaht, a retired Luxembourg bus driver, collector of bus driver paraphernalia, and author of “Bus Drivers and the Wave: a Sacred Rite.”
