Someone on Twitter pointed to this video today. I love it.
Martin walked so Barack could run
Barack ran so all our children could fly.”
Today was not a good bus day.
It started with the No. 12 Method Road bus arriving not with such indication on the L.E.D. sign on its front like it usually has, but instead alternating between, “NOT IN SERVICE” and “MAINTENANCE BUS.”
On Gorman Street, a lady got on the bus, said something to the bus driver, and then took a seat without paying. I’ve never seen this allowed before. Two stops later another lady got on, paid her fare, and then sat down next to the non-paying lady. to whom she promptly gave a dollar. The non-paying lady went up and paid her fare with the dollar. Gives a whole new meaning to pay it forward, I guess.
Next, we were graced with the presence of a “cell phone lady.” This is the second time that I’ve ridden with this lady that she’s been on the phone while: getting on the bus, paying her fare, taking her seat, and the entire ride until my stop. The fact that she’s on the phone the entire time isn’t the irritation—though I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that I am immediately turned off by people who spend inordinate amounts of time on the phone just chit-chatting— the problem is that she’s one of those people who speaks out loud as if the person were sitting right next to her, or across the aisle from her even, on the bus.
Overheard: “Yes, that’s why we were all so surprised. You know how he never cooks, and then there he was, all of a sudden…” WHO CARES, LADY???
Today’s bus driver was not very friendly, and he certainly wasn’t a rules-y kind of guy. A sign on the front of the bus, facing the passengers, clearly states:
| For passengers safety federal law prohibits operation of the bus while anyone is standing forward of the yellow line. |
At the risk of digressing, might I offer this edited version?
| For passengers‘ safety, federal law prohibits operation of the bus while anyone is standing forward of the yellow line. |
Grammar issues aside, “forward the yellow line” would include where one stands to put one’s fare in the fare collecting machine. While people were in the midst of said act, the bus driver pulled away.
The best drivers will actually wait until the person getting on has taken a seat, or is at least stopped by a seat s/he intends to take, before pulling away—to keep the poor schmuck from falling forward when the bus starts moving.
And finally, up until the point that we neared my stop, no one else had rung for a stop, and when I pressed the call button, which is really a “call tape” now on most buses, including this one—nothing happened. I mashed the hell out of it—nothing. I suppose it was because the bus considered itself NOT IN SERVICE, that it figured no one would want it to function. “STOP, PLEASE!” I yelled.
I took a Wolfline bus a couple of blocks down Hillsborough Street at lunch time and got off at the Bell Tower. Across the street from there, I had lunch at Sadlack’s Heroes, where my friend David works. I had their “California Club,” and it was most delicious—turkey, pepper jack cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Yum!
From there, I walked over to the Cameron Village library, where I picked up my copy of Stiff, which I’d requested last week and had become available on Friday.
While I waited for the 12 Method Road bus at the Cameron Village stop, I checked in with my Aunt Annette about my intent to submit the rest of her photo order to kodak.com, since she had confirmed late last week that the one 16×20 print I had made was not grainy.
I filled the remaining time reading Stiff, in which I picked up where I had left off, toward the end of the first chapter, before I gave my sister and her husband the copy Robert got them for Christmas. I just love the “voice” of this book—in addition to its historical, as well as modern, facts about human cadavers.
Robert sent me a link to a story with this picture in it:
If any of you ever wonder what “my type” is, the answer is: all four of these Hurricanes players. Whew, I got the vapors, Biff!
Late this afternoon, I canceled my home phone (land line) service from Bell South. Not surprisingly, they offered me at least three alternatives to completely canceling my services—all to which I politely answered, “No, thank you.”
This evening I had every intention of going to the gym, but never did. Note to self for tomorrow: Go immediately after work. Do not eat dinner first. Do not check e-mail first.