SHOOTING AT THE BUS STOP

I got to work today and the drivers were all talking about a shooting that happened at a downtown bus stop last night. Apparently, some loser shot someone right outside a couple buses full of people. Those poor people were all detained until they could be interviewed as witnesses by the police. I guess there were about 30-40 people, so that probably took quite a while. The good news is, the bus company gave them all rides to wherever they were trying to go before all this happened. That was nice.

What kind of fool is going to shoot someone with all those witnesses just feet away??? What an idiot! I would put money on this loser getting caught within days. Especially since they did it in the "safe zone" downtown where there are cameras covering every square inch of the blocks. I'm guessing it was drug related. You'd have to be on drugs to do something so stupid!

Of course, my first thought was that I better call my mom and let her know I was not anywhere near that mess. I'm always afraid that stuff like that (and the recent hijacking) that is all over the news is going to worry my mom. I like to let her know I'm safe.

Anyway, I was so amazed at the stupidity of this incident I just had to share it with you!

PRACTICAL JOKE

A driver, who wishes to remain anonymous, played a hilarious practical joke on the bus today.

Do you ever play those scratch off lottery tickets where you can win money? This driver found some joke ones...Every one is a BIG winner. Of course, they are not valid and it explains this on the back. No one ever looks at the back until they win a big prize and need to find out how to claim the prize.

The driver placed one ticket on a seat before starting the route and fixed a mirror so they could keep an eye on it. Nearly half a dozen people got on and walked right by it. Then one businessman got on and eyed it as he started to walk by. He quickly took the seat behind the one with the ticket. He looked around a little and then reached over the seat and grabbed the ticket. He had a folded newspaper that he put it on to make it look as if he was reading the paper. He scratched off the ticket and his face started to shine with amazement. He caught himself and looked around again. Seeing that no one was looking...He stuffed the ticket in his back pocket. He continued to smile as he pretended to read the paper.

That was a GOOD one!!

HIJACKED

Well, it finally happened. Some crazy guy hijacked a bus at the St Paul side of the 21 route. That layover spot is creepy as it is. He was the last one on the bus. The driver (she works out of the St Paul garage) was at the end and the guy walked up to her and put a white bandana around her neck and told her to drive. Luckily, she was able to push the silent alarm and also get a couple fingers under the bandana so she didn't choke. She drove until she saw the police behind her. She then told the hijacker that she had to use the bathroom and he said OK. She pulled the bus over and opened the door and the cops came on and arrested him.

Apparently, the hijacker didn't know that all the buses are equipped with global positioning. Even if the driver didn't get to the silent alarm, the control center would have seen her off course and the cops would have shown up. It just may have taken a little longer for them to realize the danger she was in. The buses also have microphones on them so the control center can listen on the bus and hear what is going on.

According to news reports, the hijacker was going nuts in his apartment not long before he went and took the bus. A neighbor said he was banging on walls and yelling at himself. Seems this guy needs some mental help.

I'm just glad the driver was ok and no one got hurt. Hopefully, both the driver and the hijacker get the help they need. Coincidentally, the driver is one of the people the company has as peer support personnel. I just hope she finds someone else to talk to about this scary situation so she can come back to work without the fear that this would happen to her again. In fact, this is the first hijacking anyone can remember happening. I think because of the global positioning, silent alarms and the fact that the transit company has its own police department that even the criminals know there are easier targets so they avoid taking buses. Not to mention the fact that the buses are technically government property and the drivers are government employees, so the penalties are probably much stiffer than to hijack someone else.

The scary thing is, I drive that route sometimes...It could have been ME!!

FUNNY BUMPER STICKER

While I was driving the bus, I saw a bumper sticker that actually made me laugh...out loud. Not REALLY loud, but loud enough for the peanut seat passenger to look to see what I was laughing at...he laughed too.

There was a cartoon picture of President Bush and under it it said...

"LIKE A ROCK...but even dumber!"

CRIME ON THE 21

Recently I drove route 21 that goes down Lake Street, which is the main east/west street in Minneapolis. It goes all the way into downtown St. Paul.

I was pulling up to a bus stop and saw what I thought was three guys goofing around. Turns out it was a mugging in progress. I opened the door right in front of the guys and the guy getting mugged grabbed his cat-in-a-carrier and jumped on the bus. One of the muggers looked right at me and he and his buddy started walking away. A couple ladies got on. One said she was so glad to see me and the other said she was getting ready to run just as I pulled up.

I asked what was going on and they told me the guy with the cat just got mugged. I asked if he was ok as I called the Control Center. BK (the lady with the dog in the carrier that rides the bus all the time) was there and tried to get him to talk to police. The guy refused all help. He said he was fine and didn't need an ambulance and all they got was his cell phone so he didn't want to make a report. (Must not have a contract plan...Must buy minutes and have been almost out!) Since he refused all help, the transit police weren't even dispatched to the bus. I told the control center that I had caught them on tape because I had opened the door right in front of them as they were mugging the guy. (There is a camera over the drivers head that films as people get onto the bus. It catches everything in the line of the door and actually films quite a distance from the bus.)

They refused to pull the tape since the guy refused all help. The REALLY stupid part is that I was told I still had to make a report in case someone called and said I didn't offer help!! More reason to pull the tape as I see it.

Further down the road on the same trip, a squad car flew past me with no siren..Just lights flashing. He pulled into a gas station. I noticed the lights were out in the parking lot of the station and there were about 2-3 more squads in the lot. I was talking to some passengers and we came to the conclusion they must have just been robbed. Seems we were right, since the lights were all back on and it looked like business as usual as I passed it on my trip back.

On the trip back, I also had a little drug deal go on right in front of me. I glared in the mirror at the one guy that was passing something across the aisle to another guy. It was folded in a magazine. He told the other guy to "Look at this cigarette". How stupid did he think I was??? I looked him in the eye (through the mirror) and said "Don't do that on the bus...On CAMERA" He said "Sorry, my bad" I continued to drive and when I looked in the mirror again I see the other guy passing him money. Really, the only reason I didn't call the cops is because I didn't actually SEE the drugs. I wasn't sure if the video had caught it either.

I settled for putting a little scare into both of them as they got off. First the purchaser got off at his stop. I told him to save his deals for when he was off the bus. I told him it wasn't very bright to commit crimes on government property and on camera. He apologized and got off the bus. A mile or so later, the seller was getting off. I told him I was very close to calling the cops on him and that he didn't know how lucky he was. There were quite a few witnesses AND a camera that caught the whole thing and he shouldn't be doing something so stupid on a bus. He seemed so happy that I didn't call the cops he thanked me and said it wouldn't happen again. What an idiot. I should have called the cops and let them figure it out! I'm sure they both would have had drugs on them.

Next time...For sure.