Los Angeles is not designed for anyone in their 80s; some days are an endurance test
The woman sat near the front of the bus with a red-framed walker at her feet and a look of discomfort on her face. As the L.A. Metro 720 approached MacArthur Park from the west on Wilshire Boulevard, she reached with her right hand for the back of her neck and grimaced.
"Are you OK?" I asked.
"It hurts," she said, massaging the sore spot.
Another passenger had a bad cough and a wretched demeanor. He cursed the driver for stopping to help a disabled passenger maneuver his three-wheeled scooter. He cursed the disabled man, too, who had a scar at the back of his neck, suggesting a surgical incision. Then he hacked some more.
The woman did not look at him, following the standard code of safe travels on public transit — mind your own business and avoid confrontation.
Dressed in a mustard-colored sweater, black skirt and stylish black boots, the woman got off the bus at
