MEAN, OLD, CRABBY LADY

I was driving the southbound 6 route pulling through Southdale Mall on my way to Minnesota Drive. I picked up this lil' old lady. I thought she was kind of cute at first. She had on a ton of makeup and was very well dressed. She reached up with a fistful of coins and put it into the farebox. It was 75 cents. I told her the fare was $2.25 during rush hour unless she had mobility ID. She snapped back, "You should have told me that before I put my money in!" I wanted to tell her I wasn't a mind reader and had no idea how much money she had in her fist or that there was a sign on the farebox that gave the prices, but I didn't want to sound defensive or rude so I just said "sorry".

She put in the rest of the fare, grumbling the whole time. I popped up a transfer and she snatched it. She was quick! As I pulled away from the mall and made a right turn onto York, she yelled "Aren't you going down France?" I explained that I took France to the Mall and would be back on France from Hazelton to Minnesota Drive...that I was still southbound. She stood up and walked directly to the door saying "Your sign says France. I need to go back down France!!" She kept pointing north so I figured she thought I was a northbound bus. I really should have taken her to the next bus stop, but she was pretty mean. I didn't want to get hit by someone that I couldn't hit back. I don't hit old ladies. I pulled the bus over immediately and let her off, blaming me all the way.

It's always the bus drivers fault.

BIZARRE MURDER

I take notes on transfers when I think I have something I want to write about on the bus. I ran into this transfer the other day while cleaning. I thought I put this story on a while back but can't seem to find it. It was so bizarre...can't believe I didn't blog it yet. Here goes.

There's a guy that rides the 46 that always has a story to tell. He seems pretty normal, but one day he got on and told me an unbelievable story of his daughters murder.

The guy says he's from some small town. He said his daughter was a great student in high school. She was well liked by everyone she met and was just a really neat kid. Seems she ran into some psycho. He took her and beat her. He cut off her breasts and, as she died, he put a 6 inch speaker into her mouth so he could "hear what death sounded like".

The story was so bizarre, I question if it is really true. I don't know if you could fit a "6 inch" speaker into a persons mouth...unless you cut it open, I guess. Who knows. It was so strange, when I ran into these notes it took me a minute to remember what they meant.

I still see this guy on the bus...especially on the 46. I don't know if I should feel bad for his loss or keep my distance. If he made this up, he's gotta be quite a sicko!

TRAVELING?

I drove by a couple of those sign people again the other day. They were standing by the Basilica in downtown Minneapolis. The sign they held kind of bothered me. It said "Traveling. Need tickets." WHAT???? I've been working hard all my life. I am planning a well needed, well EARNED vacation this fall. I'd LOVE for other people to pay for my tickets!! Heck, I wanna go para sailing too....maybe I should get a sign.

I know there are a lot of people struggling with this economy and job losses and such. However, I don't think "traveling" deserves help from other people that would love to do the same. If you want to travel, get a job and save your money and pay your own way!!

I still think the cure for "signing" is to have reputable charities give people that donate money a card for each dollar they donate. The card would list their name, address, phone number and the services they offer...food, clothing, shelter, job training or whatever. Instead of giving people on street corners cash (that I KNOW a lot of ends up at the liquor store or ...worse yet, given to a drug dealer) you give them the card. It's a win-win situation. The people get the help they need, if they really do need it, and the charities get money to provide those needs. The people that are just looking for you to pay for their next high will get tired of getting cards and stop begging on street corners.

I would rather (and have) help someone out who is collecting cans. I feel they are keeping America beautiful while they make their own money. I've handed over a few bucks to people I see doing this and actually told them "Thanks for keeping America beautiful." They appreciate it and don't see it so much as a handout, but a gift from a grateful stranger.

Heck, think I'll run for Governor!!

HERE I AM

Sorry I've been gone so long. It's been a busy month. My father got pretty sick on the 4Th of July and was put on life support. He got better and was sent back to his nursing home only to be back in the hospital days later. I went to the State Roadeo Competition to cheer on our guys. We didn't win, but still had fun. Was my first trip to Albert Lea. We visited the Spam museum and took a little side trip to Iowa to go to the casino. I won about $900 !! Shortly after returning, my dad wasn't getting better and we had to take him off life support. He died about 37 and a half hours later. We had a great day with him before he went. He was quite spunky. Hard to believe he'd be gone so soon.

Anyway, after the funeral and everything was over I came back to work. A day or two later one of the guys that competed in the Roadeo in Albert Lea was killed, along with his wife (who was also at the Roadeo to support him), in a car/motorcycle accident.

It's been a long month. Now I'm back and hope you are all still here with me!! Thanks for your patience.