THROW THE BOOK AT 'EM !!

I saw on the news last night that a group of "unruly teens" caused a bus accident when one of them punched the driver in the face...while he was driving!!

Seems the driver had asked the kids to settle down or he'd have to call the police. They didn't calm down. As he was on the phone calling for the police to take the little jerks off the bus, one of the little punks punched the driver in the face. The driver lost control of the bus and smashed into a traffic signal post. The news showed the entire front of the bus was bowed outward with both front windshields totally smashed out. The front door was broken, half of it actually broken OFF. The future convicts (no doubt) jumped out windows to escape. The cops caught a couple of them. I'm sure they'll happily snitch out their friends...especially tell on the one that actually hit the driver...to save themselves. Even if they don't it's all on tape.

This needs to stop. There could have been babies or toddlers on that bus. ANYONE could have been seriously injured. Pedestrians, other drivers...anyone. I hope they punish these kids to the fullest extent of the law. They should be charged not just with the assault, but also for interfering with public transportation. If punching the driver doesn't qualify for that charge, what does?? Both are felony charges. They should also be required to pay every dime that this stupid act caused to be spent. The repairs to the bus and the traffic signal. The wages of the driver who was hurt, the medical expenses, the wages of the driver who had to take his place. The wages of the police, supervisor, tow truck driver and every other dime that will be spent in court over this. Then they should lock them up for a good long time and let them think about it. When they come out, they should be required to speak to other kids about how stupid it is to do such things. How one dumb act like this, for NO GOOD REASON, could easily have killed someone. Where would they be then? A little anger management counseling wouldn't be a bad idea. Neither would a public apology. I also hope they plaster these kids pictures all over the garages so they aren't allowed on another bus.

If you want to act like an ass and risk other peoples lives, you can walk.

LITTLE MISS NASTY ATTITUDE

I was driving the northbound 4 and pulled up to the bus stop at 5th and Hennepin. This chick got on and tagged her Go-to card. It said it was a mobility fare so I asked for the required ID. She seemed surprised and told me she didn't have one. She went on to tell me that no other drivers ever ask her for any ID. I explained that it is required and we shouldn't have to ask. I also explained that it was illegal, a felony actually, to pay mobility fare without the proper ID. She got an instant attitude...a very bad one. She said she didn't have any ID and she had to go get her kids.

I told her she would have to pay the fare or get off the bus. She got really snotty with me and said "I'm not going anywhere!" I had just about reached the end of my rope with her. I said "Wanna bet?" and called for the police. I explained to the Control Center the situation as she stood right next to me. I also told Control that the person had a "very nasty attitude" and that I wasn't about to put up with it. They were about to send police when the fare evader realized she wasn't going to win this one. She called me a few things...not very nice things...and she got off the bus.

I had seen a 6 bus behind me and she had told me where she was going. The 6 would have gotten her close. I had hung up with Control and didn't want to bother them again since Little Miss Nasty Attitude had gotten off my bus. I was quite pleased to find out later that the driver of the 6 had passed her by. I had held him up with this little incident and he just wanted to make the light and blew past her.

I have the same schedule next week. Hopefully, if I see her again I can get the cops there to confiscate the illegal card. It's just not fair to the honest people that pay the whole fare every day. I plan to push for the $180 fare evasion ticket for her, too. The actually penalty, seeing as it IS considered a felony, is up to $5,000 fine and/or 3 years in prison.

It doesn't pay to piss off the bus driver! Especially if YOU are the one doing something illegal...on multiple cameras!!

WHAT WERE THEY FILMING?

Does anyone know what they were filming Thursday late night to Friday morning at 57th and Lyndale avenue south? Looked like they took over one of those sleazy hotels and put a new name on it for whatever they were doing.

The curiosity is killing me!

WE HAVE A WINNER !!!!

I've been found!! It was about 5PM on Thursday. I was driving a southbound 4 out of downtown Minneapolis with a packed bus. People were standing all the way down the aisle to the front of the bus. This guy came in the door and looked me right in the eye. He looked so excited. He said the winning phrase, "Does your mother know that you're picking up strangers?" It looked like he really wanted to say "Did I win? Did I win???" I told him "Yes, she does and we have a winner!!" He was very excited. I told him I had the beer stein mug or the t-shirt. He was very happy and asked for the stein. I was so glad someone found me that I gave him the t-shirt AND the stein along with the pin.

The winners name is Joel. CONGRATULATIONS, JOEL !! Thanks for reading. I'll get some smaller t-shirts next time ( I had a large white or X large green shirt to choose from).

I made an announcement over the speaker that we had a winner in the front of the bus. I told everyone his name is Joel and he won the Pickingupstrangers.com "find me" contest. Most people didn't really seem to get it. I plan to do it again. Maybe they'll catch on.

The next contest won't be right away. I need to get my graphic designer (my brother, hehehe) to improve the graphics on the stein..they are too small. I also want to take "www." off the t-shirts and pins and just have them say "Pickingupstrangers.com". It's easier to read and I think most people realize when they see .com that it is a website. They are kind of fun though. They say "Wanna ride?" on the front.

Congratulations again to Joel. To the rest of you, you WILL get another chance. Maybe you will be the next winner!! Thanks so much for enjoying my blog and playing my little contest. If you are interested in seeing what the prizes are, I order them from www.cafepress.com/pickingup . Feel free to suggest what prize you'd like to see up for grabs.

NAUGHTY NATIVE

One of my coworkers and I were talking about some of the interesting passengers we've had recently. Here is one of the stories I had told her. She suggested I blog it.

I was driving the 2 down Franklin Avenue. This drunk Indian guy gets on. Wait. Is that politically incorrect? OK - an inebriated Native American guy gets on. (Is that better?? Geeez. When I have too much to drink, I happen to fit a stereotype, too. Drunk Irish chick. Who cares. It is what it is!!)

Anyway, the guy sits in the peanut seat...of course. He starts talking to me...of course. He points out my red hair and asked if I was Irish. I told him I was. I was keeping my answers kind of short because I didn't feel like having a full blown conversation with a drunk guy. Then he asked if I had any Native in me. I'm thinking...yeah, sure. I'm a really white white girl with freckles and orange hair...I look so Indian!! I settled for saying "No, I don't." He got this mischievous grin on his face and asked "Do you want some?"

I actually had to laugh...to myself, of course. Naughty drunk guy tricked me!!

YOU COULD BE A WINNER!!

The contest is still on! No one has found me yet. YOU could be the winner!

This week I am working today (Monday) thru Thursday. I am working 10 hour shifts, so that gives you a lot of time to find me.

Here are a couple hints. I will be cruising through downtown Minneapolis on Hennepin avenue at least a couple times during rush hour. My hours will be the same from Monday - Thursday. I start at about 1:45 PM and work 'til about 11:45 PM. I am kind of hoping someone finds me this week during one of my busy rush hour trips. Most people on this route are fun yuppies at that time and would love to watch me hand out the prizes to the winner!

GOOD LUCK!

YO MOMMA...SURELY, NOT MINE !

I was driving the 2 last week (yep, that's where you could have found me and won a prize!) and this "lady" gets on at Chicago and Franklin. She had obviously been drinking more than her feeble brain could handle and was carrying a large bag of potato chips. She stumbled up the steps and said " I need a courtesy ride." I don't know who started this, but THERE IS NO SUCH THING as a courtesy ride. I explained to her that if there was such a thing everyone would get on and say they needed one and sit down and ride and soon there would be no buses because there is no MONEY to run them!!

This was too much for her, so she switched to plan B. She said "My husband beat me up." I saw no evidence of a beating...no blood, red marks...just the brown hills and valleys she tried to pass off as teeth that were quite frightening. She'll fit right in on Halloween in a couple weeks! Anyway, I knew she was trying the sympathy move. Sorry, wrong driver. I did have just the right question for her, though. I asked her if she'd like me to call the police for her. That caught her totally off guard. She realized lying on her probably-non-existent husband wasn't going to work. She said " I just need to get down to Bloomington." I told her the fare was $1.75 and she'd have to pay like everyone else on the bus. She mumbled something and I told her she'd have to pay the fare or hop off the bus, I had to leave.

This was not what she wanted to hear. She started cussing and got quite loud as she exited the bus. I was just glad to see her going down the stairs. I brushed off her calling me a fuckin' white bitch. (I keep meaning to ask my mom if that was a nickname for me or something. I get called that a lot.) Unfortunately, by the time she got off the bus and I closed the door, the light I was sitting at had turned red. This just gave her the chance to scowl at me and flash her scary brown stubby "teeth". She started banging on the bus door. I ignored her. She continuously flipped me off and started talking about my momma. She said some aweful, nasty things about my momma. That's when I realized she obviously didn't know my momma but must have confused her with her own. My light turned green and, as she flipped me off again, I smiled and waved and said to the people on the bus "Look! She thinks I'm number one!" The bus had been pretty quiet though all of this but then the tension broke. They laughed and seemed to relax a bit.

I thought about it and finally figured it out...she takes after her momma.

KEEP LOOKING !!

Still waiting to be found! This week I'm on one of my favorite boring east/west routes. Not a lot of customers and the ones I get are nearly all NORMAL!! Love this route. I'm out there from about 12:30 PM until about 8:30 PM this week. Good luck!!

A KID I WON'T SOON FORGET

I was driving the 21 recently. Had a real fun group as I was heading into downtown St. Paul. One little boy about 7-8 years old was just a ball of energy. I enjoyed listening to him telling jokes and messing with anyone in the area. I laughed to myself as he went from one person to the next saying "say I and spell cup". He laughed each time the good sports pretended not to know what they were doing when they said " I c-u-p". ( For those of you that may be a little slow..they were saying "I see you pee.")

Finally, he made his way to the drivers seat. I pretended I had been deaf all this time when he asked me to say I and spell cup. I paused a minute for the effect and said "OH No, You aren't going to get ME!" He laughed and then came up with something else for me. He asked me to say I and spell cup backwards. I thought about it for a second. Didn't get it. I didn't want to fall into a trap so I told him again he wasn't going to get me. He looked at me like "duh" and said "What? I p-u-c. It doesn't MEAN anything!" To me, it meant I pee,you see...but I'm not arguing with a kid. You can't win those.

I noticed it had gotten pretty quiet as we pulled into downtown. I listened again and found out the kid was being bribed by his grandma with $2 if he could get all the way home without saying anything. I called him over at a stoplight and told him I heard he was winning a bet and told him I could teach him to talk without saying anything. He seemed totally confused. I showed him how to spell "hi" in sign language. He was a quick learner. He went straight to his grandma and signed "hi" over and over again. She was more confused than he had been. I told her he was saying "hi" to her in sign language. She seemed happily impressed.

Just then, someone the kid had "gotten" with his I cup joke commented to his grandma what a fun kid her "son" was. That's when the mood dampened for a minute. She said his mother had been killed and she was taking care of him. He was her grandson. "It's just him and me." My heart just sank.

I must give credit to the grandma, though. The kid was very bright and positive and fun to be around. Not a lot of kids that adults can say that about...especially on the bus!

FIND ME UPDATE

Tomorrow and Thursday I will be working 10 hour shifts again. Gives you a lot of time to find me. I don't start until about 3:30 PM and work until about 1:30 AM.

Here's the hint - This is the route I always joke around and say has crackheads on one side and college students on the other side. That may be too much of a hint...we'll see.

If my fellow Hecklers are reading this...don't give out too much more in the way of hints...that's my job!

Hope to see you out there. I'll be picking up strangers. It's what I do best!

By the way, don't forget the winning phrase has to be said to the bus driver to win the contest. The winning phrase = "Does your mother know that you're picking up strangers?"

NO ONE HAS FOUND ME YET

No one found me so I'm gonna give you another hint. I'll be working from about 130PM to about 1130PM today and tomorrow. I'm on a pretty mellow route that few people ride, so I'm not holding my breath on being found.

Good Luck!