Ronni Bennett, whom I admire enormously, has written many blogs about ageism, prejudice against older people. I’ve certainly felt it; I know what she means. But now I feel like I’m also a perpetrator. People are friendly here in Pittsburgh and often talk to each other without formal introductions, particularly on the bus. I actually made a good friend by talking to someone on the bus. A few weeks ago a woman started talking to me on the bus to class. She gets on several stops after me and goes to a class in the same building. I had seen her before but never spoken to her at length. We had long conversations on two separate trips, first on the bus, then sitting and waiting for classes to begin; we arrived very early. At first she seemed an obvious candidate for a new friend, she lives nearby and is looking for someone to "do things with." But the second conversation was a rerun of the first; we never covered any new ground. So I’m not anxious to make this new friend, and I’m feeling guilty. I think ageism has a lot to do with it. She may be older than me; she’s certainly slower. We don’t seem to have any common interests. She didn’t remember what she told me two days before.  I have a strong suspicion she really wants to be friends because I drive and she doesn’t. I’ve been taking a later bus, the last few days, but I think I have to go back to the early one; I got to class late today. I guess I’ll continue feeling guilty; she obviously needs a new friend, but I also believe I’m entitled to choose my friends on the basis of common interests, not need or guilt.