THE EGG IS ON ME / WONDERWOMAN
I really don't miss driving the 5 line. That is one of those routes that makes you glad that this job comes with its very own police department! In fact, I used the Transit Police more in my first year when I was driving the 5 than I have in the past 4 and a half years PLUS since then.
One evening while I was driving the 5 I stopped at a corner in north Minneapolis to let people off. There was a group of kids standing on the corner. Some acted as if they wanted to catch the bus. After some people got off the bus, there was one little boy about ten or eleven years old that stood in front of the door as if he wanted to get on. I just kind of looked at him like "are you getting on or not?" and all of the sudden he beaned me with an egg. That kid could be a pitcher for the Twins! I never realized how much of a mess one egg could make. It hit me near my right shoulder and the mess was all over my chest and into my lap. I had most of the shell hanging off my shirt pocket. I was instantly pissed. I shut the door and called the Control Center. As I was sitting there, I noticed the other nearly dozen kids...They ALL had eggs. The guilty party had run as soon as he made his big splash all over me. I was talking on the phone to the Control Center when one little egg boy came pounding on the door. Apparently, he realized the cops may be coming. He said, in a panic "You know it wasn't me,right? You know it wasn't me." I put the phone aside and said to him "I know exactly who it was. See that camera over my head? It points right out that door. Your little buddy is on tape. You might want to tell him...He's starting his three strikes a little early. It's a FELONY to assault a bus driver." Now, as far as I know, we don't have the 3 felonies (strikes) and you go to prison for life law. Even if we did...The kid was pretty young. But the look on the little kids' face who was at the door trying to cover his own butt was of terror. I thought his eyes might pop out of his head. GOOD!! I doubt he'll ever do it again. The actual guilty little boy...He's probably been turned in for SOMETHING by his butt-covering friend by now and is probably in juvenile detention.
The kids scattered before the cops could get there so I was told to finish my route and wait at the end of the line for the cops to come and pull the tape of what the cameras caught. As I waited, trauma number two of the evening happened. I was standing behind my bus talking to the bus driver parked behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see something go flying. I turn and look and some 6 foot tall kid is chasing some old dude. The older guy runs onto my bus. Wonderwoman that I am...Or appear to become in situations I don't have time to think rationally in...I ran onto the bus steps behind the old guy. I had taken out my pepper spray and stood on the step eye to eye with this big kid and pointed the spray at him. He apparently had some experience with pepper spray and turned around and ran the other way faster than he came. The old guy thanked me repeatedly. I noticed he had a black eye from some prior incident...Might as well have had "victim" written on his forehead. I asked him what happened and he said the kid just started harassing him for no reason then threw a cup of iced pop at him and started chasing him. I saw that the little loser had stopped running and actually had the nerve to go back to the bus stop a few bus lengths up from me to wait for the route 22 bus. That pissed me off. How dare he think he can attack old people and then just hop on a bus. I called the Control Center and told them about the incident and they informed me the cop that was on his way to pull my security tape from the egging incident should be there shortly. The poor old guy just sat there shaking. He said he was waiting for the same bus the kid was waiting for. I told him not to worry...It would be taken care of and he wouldn't end up on the same bus with that loser.
The cops got there and took the tape from the egging as I explained the new incident, which would also be on the tape. I pointed out the kid. They escorted the old guy to the bus stop and got hold of the kid. I was surprised to see that, after old black-n-blue eye got on the bus and left, the police let the kid go! I asked the cop before I left why they did that. He said since the cup didn't hit the old guy and the kid never caught him, there was really no crime...No assault. That was so not right!! That old guy was terrified. Who knows what would have happened if that punk wasn't so scared of a girl with pepper spray. I was quite disappointed.
Well, you have to look at the bright side of things...I got the rest of the night off!! Due to the egg assault, I was allowed to go home and wash my uniform. In fact, a couple days later I got a letter from one of the "higher ups" offering me peer counseling and saying they understand how emotional and degrading that type of incident can be. Some other bus drivers actually tried to entice me to go to peer counseling...They said you don't have to come to work. You just go talk to a counselor an hour or two a day and you get paid for the whole day!! Now, I'm sure that there are situations this would be beneficial to a bus driver...Like when that person commit suicide-by-bus by walking out in front of the bus...On the HIGHWAY!! However, what would I say?? I can't eat eggs anymore? Breakfast is too traumatic for me? The sight of eggs, especially scrambled, sends me into uncontrollable tremors? Nah, I'm not a great liar...Besides, when it comes down to it...I really LIKE my job!!
One evening while I was driving the 5 I stopped at a corner in north Minneapolis to let people off. There was a group of kids standing on the corner. Some acted as if they wanted to catch the bus. After some people got off the bus, there was one little boy about ten or eleven years old that stood in front of the door as if he wanted to get on. I just kind of looked at him like "are you getting on or not?" and all of the sudden he beaned me with an egg. That kid could be a pitcher for the Twins! I never realized how much of a mess one egg could make. It hit me near my right shoulder and the mess was all over my chest and into my lap. I had most of the shell hanging off my shirt pocket. I was instantly pissed. I shut the door and called the Control Center. As I was sitting there, I noticed the other nearly dozen kids...They ALL had eggs. The guilty party had run as soon as he made his big splash all over me. I was talking on the phone to the Control Center when one little egg boy came pounding on the door. Apparently, he realized the cops may be coming. He said, in a panic "You know it wasn't me,right? You know it wasn't me." I put the phone aside and said to him "I know exactly who it was. See that camera over my head? It points right out that door. Your little buddy is on tape. You might want to tell him...He's starting his three strikes a little early. It's a FELONY to assault a bus driver." Now, as far as I know, we don't have the 3 felonies (strikes) and you go to prison for life law. Even if we did...The kid was pretty young. But the look on the little kids' face who was at the door trying to cover his own butt was of terror. I thought his eyes might pop out of his head. GOOD!! I doubt he'll ever do it again. The actual guilty little boy...He's probably been turned in for SOMETHING by his butt-covering friend by now and is probably in juvenile detention.
The kids scattered before the cops could get there so I was told to finish my route and wait at the end of the line for the cops to come and pull the tape of what the cameras caught. As I waited, trauma number two of the evening happened. I was standing behind my bus talking to the bus driver parked behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see something go flying. I turn and look and some 6 foot tall kid is chasing some old dude. The older guy runs onto my bus. Wonderwoman that I am...Or appear to become in situations I don't have time to think rationally in...I ran onto the bus steps behind the old guy. I had taken out my pepper spray and stood on the step eye to eye with this big kid and pointed the spray at him. He apparently had some experience with pepper spray and turned around and ran the other way faster than he came. The old guy thanked me repeatedly. I noticed he had a black eye from some prior incident...Might as well have had "victim" written on his forehead. I asked him what happened and he said the kid just started harassing him for no reason then threw a cup of iced pop at him and started chasing him. I saw that the little loser had stopped running and actually had the nerve to go back to the bus stop a few bus lengths up from me to wait for the route 22 bus. That pissed me off. How dare he think he can attack old people and then just hop on a bus. I called the Control Center and told them about the incident and they informed me the cop that was on his way to pull my security tape from the egging incident should be there shortly. The poor old guy just sat there shaking. He said he was waiting for the same bus the kid was waiting for. I told him not to worry...It would be taken care of and he wouldn't end up on the same bus with that loser.
The cops got there and took the tape from the egging as I explained the new incident, which would also be on the tape. I pointed out the kid. They escorted the old guy to the bus stop and got hold of the kid. I was surprised to see that, after old black-n-blue eye got on the bus and left, the police let the kid go! I asked the cop before I left why they did that. He said since the cup didn't hit the old guy and the kid never caught him, there was really no crime...No assault. That was so not right!! That old guy was terrified. Who knows what would have happened if that punk wasn't so scared of a girl with pepper spray. I was quite disappointed.
Well, you have to look at the bright side of things...I got the rest of the night off!! Due to the egg assault, I was allowed to go home and wash my uniform. In fact, a couple days later I got a letter from one of the "higher ups" offering me peer counseling and saying they understand how emotional and degrading that type of incident can be. Some other bus drivers actually tried to entice me to go to peer counseling...They said you don't have to come to work. You just go talk to a counselor an hour or two a day and you get paid for the whole day!! Now, I'm sure that there are situations this would be beneficial to a bus driver...Like when that person commit suicide-by-bus by walking out in front of the bus...On the HIGHWAY!! However, what would I say?? I can't eat eggs anymore? Breakfast is too traumatic for me? The sight of eggs, especially scrambled, sends me into uncontrollable tremors? Nah, I'm not a great liar...Besides, when it comes down to it...I really LIKE my job!!
posted by Jeanne Ree at 9:17 AM
2 Comments:
Good thing you're a gringo and not hispanic. In the hispanic culture getting raw-egg'd is EVIL. It means bad things will happen to you.
NOW do you want counseling?
ME? A Gringo? I'm a redheaded Irish chick. I don't believe in any of that hocus pocus, voodoo or any other stuff like that. Therefore, No...still don't care for counseling over a kid with an egg. Heck, I used to be a kid like that. I believe more in what goes around comes back around...it's just coming back to me!! And...as I always say...if that's the worst that happens, it's been a good day!
Thanks for your comment, though...educational even!
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