ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !!!!!

Well, we made it...Front page of the newspaper today. Too bad it's for something ridiculous!!

Some of our buses and light rail trains are what I call shrink wrapped with advertising. Seems one driver...Out of my own garage...Is offended by one of the ads and refused to drive any bus with the ad on it. That isn't even the worst part...The worst part is the company actually made a list of which buses have that ad and have told the dispatchers not to assign any of those buses to this person!!!! Now THAT is ridiculous!!!

OK, the driver claims the ad, which is for a gay magazine, is against her religious beliefs. So what?? I think the public KNOWS that just because we drive the bus we don't necessarily agree with the ads on them. We are paid to drive the bus...Period. So, what if this driver gets an actual gay PERSON on the bus?? Does she have the right to refuse him/her a ride because her beliefs are different??? That's bullshit. Besides, if you are in a religion that teaches intolerance, maybe you really need to check yourself....Maybe find a new church. Just because I'm not gay, that does not give me the right to say those that are are wrong.

I thought it was bad enough with the stories in the news here lately that the Muslim cab drivers were refusing service to A) Anyone carrying liquor or coming from/going to a liquor store B) blind people with service dogs (I guess in their culture, dogs are considered unclean) and C) a transgender passenger. GET REAL!!!!!! You are in a job, as I am, that is to serve the PUBLIC!!!! If your religion is getting in the way then you need to find a job where you can pick and chose who you deal with.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

ANOTHER FUNNY SIGN

I don't think I mentioned this one...if I did, blame it on my Grandma. She must have given me alzheimers!!

There are signs all over that try to let the bus riders know that even though 2 or more different routes come by the same spot, only one of them makes the stop in that spot. (This is usually because the other route turns left and we can't make a left from the right hand lane.)

The wording is what's funny. Instead of saying "ONLY route 46 stops here" there is a sign on 28th avenue and 42nd street that says "Route 46 ONLY stops here" ...

Short route, huh?


(There's another one at the route 11 layover on 46th and Nicollet... "Route 11 only stops here" Another short route!!!!)

TRAGEDY ON THE 46 ROUTE

About a week ago, a 41 year old woman was hit and killed by a bus. I feel terrible for her and her family, but I think I feel almost worse for the driver.

Apparently, the woman stepped off the curb in front of the bus...Not even in the crosswalk. I've heard the driver resigned her position with the company. Now she not only has to deal with the fact that she killed someone, she's unemployed. How much worse can it get??

I wish the company would address all the rumors going around. I've heard that because the woman was hit with the front of the bus that the company considers it the drivers fault. ???????????? We are driving FORWARD...Someone steps off a curb. Chances are they will be hit by the FRONT of the bus. How is that the drivers' fault??

Like I said, this was a terrible accident. I think it is a shame to charge the driver with the accident. Especially since the rumor is she was given the choice to resign or be fired. If fired, she would lose her pension...If she resigns she gets no unemployment benefits....What a mess. I know this driver. She works out of the same garage that I do. She is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. I sincerely hope she gets any counseling she may need for as long as she may need and realizes that, no matter what the company says, it was an ACCIDENT...It could have happened to any one of us.

Sure doesn't make the rest of us feel very secure in our jobs!!

FUNNY SIGN

I saw a funny sign on a car wash. It was one of those car washes that you drive into the stall and wash the car yourself with the big soapy brush and high pressured water gun. It said...

"Satisfaction Guaranteed or your money back"

I wonder how many times I could actually wash my car and then go to them and say "I did a terrible job. I am not satisfied. I want my money back!!"

That's funny!! (Makes me wanna try it!)

ZAPP THE DRUNK

Last week I had a guy get on my bus that was WAY drunk. As usual, he sat in the peanut seat. He asked me if I went to the skyway. ??????? I told him I didn't know what he was talking about. Then he asked if I went down 24th street. I told him I went down 25th street. Then he asked if I went down Franklin and I told him I did.

Having NO idea where he really wanted to go, I just tried to ignore him and the nasty smell that was taking over the entire front of the bus. He smelled like old booze and cigarettes. By the time I got to the last stop on Franklin, I looked and he was passed out. There was drool all over his mouth. One string of drool actually went all the way from the corner of his mouth down his chin and hung all the way to his shirt on his chest. It was really gross. I decided there was NO WAY he was going to be with me on my layover downtown so I yelled "HEY! Didn't you want Franklin?" I got no response. I yelled it again, still no response. I tried my loud ear piercing whistle and still got no response. Not from him, anyway. Some guy in the middle of the bus said "Damn! He's really knocked out!"

I continued on my route and called the Control Center to have the police remove him from my bus. They met me at the parking ramp downtown where I have my layover. I hate when they do that. Especially when they let them go and then they are milling around by you...Usually mad that you called the cops on them.

I saw the cops and pulled over by them. I opened the door and pointed at Sleeping Drooly. I said "He's all yours...And I won't even charge you for him!" Three cops got on and tried to wake him up verbally. That wasn't happening. Then one pinched his arm. That got him to come around a little. They told him to get off the bus. He looked at them like he was dazed. They tried to help him up and he fussed "Wait a minute I gotta get my stuff." One cop showed him that he had his coat and told him to c'mon. The drunk pointed at my stuff behind my seat and said he had to get "his" stuff. I told him anything behind my seat belonged to me. He continued to fuss about "his" stuff and tried to move towards my stuff. The cops were trying to turn him toward the stairs but he was determined to take my stuff with him. One cop got out the Tazer gun and removed the cap so it was ready to fire. All I could think of was this 250 pound stinky drooling drunk flopping into my lap if they shot him. I raised my voice and again told him "That stuff is mine. The officer has your coat and that's all you got on the bus with." It seemed to work...What a wuss. The cops got him down the stairs and I was free to go around to my layover spot and air out the bus.

I am so glad we have our own police department!! What would have happened if they weren't there? I probably would have had a physical altercation if I had to wake him up myself. The only other choice would have been to keep him on my bus with me and ride him around until he woke up. I don't think my nose could have taken that! I'd just like to say thanks to the Officers...They do great work!

***** TAKING A BOW *****

The bad news is....I didn't place in the top 3 in the Roadeo so I don't move on to State or International competition.

The good news is.....I won Roadeo Rookie of the Year!!!! Even though I have been driving for 6 years, this was the first time I participated in the Roadeo so I was considered a Rookie.

It was VERY hard. The course was VERY tight. I don't know if anyone got through it without killing at least one cone! A rookie has never won the Roadeo, so I actually did very well. I haven't seen any paperwork to see how many people were in it total, but I heard I placed 13th or 14th overall. The same guy that wins every year won again this year. Next year I want to find out when he is competing and go on that day and watch him. Maybe I can learn something.

It was really fun to participate and I can't wait until next year to try it again. I won't be a Rookie since I did it this year so I'll have to place in the top three in order to win any title.

Thanks for all your support!!