Today, I stopped and picked up one of my regulars.
Guy: Weren't you wearing that yesterday?
Me: Ummm, it's a uniform. I have about thirty versions of this exact outfit.
Guy: Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense. I was just thinking you stayed overnight somewhere and didn't have a change of clothes.
Me:??????
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sleeping beauty...a bus driver's version.
At my very first stop, I come across a homeless man with a bike asking for a free ride. I allow him on the bus and then hit the "fare not paid" button.
Man: Did you just call security?
Me: No! I was just checking my messages (better to say that, than the fact that I informed control of a passenger who didn't pay. It's only used for statistical information, but that's too much explaining for my liking).
Man: You had better not be lying to me...or, I'm going to do some damage to you.
Me: I was just seeing if there were any re-routes, I needed to be aware of.
Man: Fucking, young people who are on a power trip just because they drive a bus.
Me: Why don't you take a seat, I need to start driving.
Man: Fuck you!
About an hour later, I notice that my bus is empty but the man's bike is still on my bike rack. Oh well, he probably forgot it. No big deal. Once I get to my terminus, I walk to the back of the bus to check for lost property. Hunched over in the very rear seats is the homeless man, fast asleep. "Sir, you need to wake up now! SIR! END OF THE LINE! GET OFF MY BUS!!" I say. Then I notice he has headphones in his ears. I check to make sure he's still breathing and then get back in the drivers seat. I pull the bus up a few feet and slam on the brakes, causing the man to slide into the seat in front of him. He still didn't wake up.
I turn up the volume of the P.A. system, in the hopes that he'll wake up when the bus loudly announces his, or any stop for that matter. As I'm driving along, I get passengers constantly coming up to the front of the bus, telling me that I've got a dead guy in the back. I continue telling them that, he's just sleeping and he'll probably wake up eventually. By the time, I've finished my second run, the man has been out cold for over three hours.
I get out of the bus, light a smoke, and start telling the story to another driver. He starts laughing hysterically, as the best part of the story is that when the man finally wakes up, another driver will be operating the bus. I only wish, I could witness his look of confusion when that happens. Glancing over, I notice that my relief has shown up. I tell him about the sleeper on the bus. "Well, did you call security?" he asks. "No. There was no danger, and he'll wake up eventually." I reply. "What?!?!? What if he's dead? That's so irresponsible!" he yells. "I checked, he's still breathing. He was yelling and swearing at me and he didn't pay...you get the service you pay for." I respond.
Then I walked away, feeling him glaring at my back.
Man: Did you just call security?
Me: No! I was just checking my messages (better to say that, than the fact that I informed control of a passenger who didn't pay. It's only used for statistical information, but that's too much explaining for my liking).
Man: You had better not be lying to me...or, I'm going to do some damage to you.
Me: I was just seeing if there were any re-routes, I needed to be aware of.
Man: Fucking, young people who are on a power trip just because they drive a bus.
Me: Why don't you take a seat, I need to start driving.
Man: Fuck you!
About an hour later, I notice that my bus is empty but the man's bike is still on my bike rack. Oh well, he probably forgot it. No big deal. Once I get to my terminus, I walk to the back of the bus to check for lost property. Hunched over in the very rear seats is the homeless man, fast asleep. "Sir, you need to wake up now! SIR! END OF THE LINE! GET OFF MY BUS!!" I say. Then I notice he has headphones in his ears. I check to make sure he's still breathing and then get back in the drivers seat. I pull the bus up a few feet and slam on the brakes, causing the man to slide into the seat in front of him. He still didn't wake up.
I turn up the volume of the P.A. system, in the hopes that he'll wake up when the bus loudly announces his, or any stop for that matter. As I'm driving along, I get passengers constantly coming up to the front of the bus, telling me that I've got a dead guy in the back. I continue telling them that, he's just sleeping and he'll probably wake up eventually. By the time, I've finished my second run, the man has been out cold for over three hours.
I get out of the bus, light a smoke, and start telling the story to another driver. He starts laughing hysterically, as the best part of the story is that when the man finally wakes up, another driver will be operating the bus. I only wish, I could witness his look of confusion when that happens. Glancing over, I notice that my relief has shown up. I tell him about the sleeper on the bus. "Well, did you call security?" he asks. "No. There was no danger, and he'll wake up eventually." I reply. "What?!?!? What if he's dead? That's so irresponsible!" he yells. "I checked, he's still breathing. He was yelling and swearing at me and he didn't pay...you get the service you pay for." I respond.
Then I walked away, feeling him glaring at my back.
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