BITCHY, BUT FUNNY

I always greet my customers. Usually, I say "Hi" or "How are you doing" and thank them when they pay their fare.

I had this business woman get on one day. She was dressed like a classy yuppie. Her outfit matched, all the way down to her purse. She didn't have a hair out of place.

Apparently, the look was deceiving. She must have had a rough day. I greeted her with my typical "How are you doing?" and she was very honest. She said "I'm a little bitchy today, if you wanna know the truth."

I couldn't help it, I laughed. That made her smile. I said "Well, I wasn't expecting that! I hope your day gets better!" She said "Thanks, it just did."

Bitchy lady...made the day for both of us!

THANK THE VOLUNTEERS

I love seeing people helping people.

North Minneapolis was hit by tornadoes this summer. The devastation was unbelievable. A lot of people that were forced from their homes or had much damage were people that had very little in the first place. It was like adding insult to injury. It was sad.

The outpouring of help from the community was fantastic.

I was driving a bus a day or two after the storms. As I pulled up to a bus stop on Nicollet Mall, there were three people standing there with bikes. The bike racks only hold two bikes. It was later at night and buses didn't run as often so I told them they could bring one on the bus, just put it out of the way as much as possible.

They thanked me repeatedly and loaded up their bikes and boarded. The two guys and the girl were talking to each other about their day. They spent over 12 hours on the north side helping with storm clean-up. I noticed when they got on they all paid with transfers, which means they paid cash fares. They spent their own money to catch two buses and ride their bikes to a neighborhood foreign to them to help people in need. I was touched.

I called the Control Center and told them about these people. I had overheard them planning to go back again the next day. I asked for permission to give them each two free ride transfers so they wouldn't have to spend their own money. They thought it was a great idea and told me I could.

I gave them each the transfers as they got off the bus. They acted like I gave them gold. I thanked them for helping people that really needed it. I told them if the world was filled with people like them, it would be an awesome place to live.

If you can't be a volunteer, at least thank one. They truly appreciate it!

SHOES I COULD NEVER FILL

When I was in training, eleven years ago, one of my instructors said something that I have found to be very true. The people that are not at a bus stop, prepared to catch a bus, are the ones that will cause you trouble.

I was driving up near the cab stand at Nicollet and Grant. There was this young girl that must have been trying to get a deal from the cabbie. She was talking fast and flailing her arms around. The cabbie just looked down and shook his head "no". Then he saw my bus coming and directed her to it, pointing in my direction. Of course, someone rang the bell and I had to make the bus stop. I knew this wasn't going to be good.

I opened the door and my passenger got off the bus. The young girl came running up and asked him for his transfer. He gave it to her, which is illegal. She got on and I informed her that she could not use that transfer. She gave me some sob story about how she was pregnant (how is that my fault??!!??) and she needed to get down to 7Th street. I told her the downtown zone was 50 cents. She said she didn't have any money. Hmmm...about to have a baby and doesn't have 50 cents? Guess our taxes will be supporting that poor baby. Anyway, I informed her that riding without paying the fair was illegal, as was using someone else's transfer. She could get a $180 fine for fare evasion.

I had to get to the midnight line up (all buses meet for 10 minutes so people can connect with other buses...it's a great idea. Makes it easy for passengers.) I didn't want to be late, so I continued to drive as I informed her of the rules. I was secretly hoping the transit police would be there so I could get her a ticket. She had turned into quite a little smart ass. I decided to just leave it alone, not say anything else and just get there. As I drove along, she kept going. Talking about what a heartless bitch I was and how I should put myself in her shoes. Hmmmm...put myself in her shoes. Young, immature, broke, pregnant and running my unborn child around the streets of Minneapolis at midnight. Nope, just couldn't see being irresponsible enough to ever be in her shoes.

She had gotten so mouthy, it was really hard for me to just ignore it. Somehow, I managed to. I wanted to tell her to just shut up. Obviously, the bus was moving so she was getting where she was going. I didn't call the cops. I didn't take the transfer away. I didn't kick her off the bus. She should just shut up and enjoy her free ride. I'm sure there was some Divine intervention that allowed me to just ignore her until she got off the bus.

I was more than disappointed when I got to 7Th street. Not one transit cop in sight. They normally sit right on the corner for the line ups. To top it all off, the too-young-and-irresponsible-to-be-pregnant girl got off and the first thing she did was light up a cigarette. Hmmm...put myself in her shoes. Sorry, just can't do it!

THE VINCI CODE

I had a rather studious looking young lady on my bus. She was reading a book. The book was kind of thin...obviously not "War and Peace" or anything. This other woman got on the bus. She seemed to just want to talk. Most people were ignoring her. She looked like she needed a bath and didn't seem to be the brightest bulb on the tree. The other passengers were doing an impressive job of pretending not to hear her rambling on.

Then the skanky girl zeroed in on the studious girl. "What's your name?" The girl grudgingly looked away from her book to speak to the skank. "Sarah." She said with polite patience. "Sarah with a 'C' ?" Skank asked. Her bulb dimmed even more. The girl kind of laughed and said "No, with an 'S'." Seeming to actually realize how stupid she looked, Skank tried to turn it around on the smart girl. "What are you reading? That's just a SKINNY book!" As if to imply that the girl was reading a "See John Run" type of first grader book.

The girl showed the skank her book. It was too deep for her, so she fought back. "I just read 'The Vinci Code'." Obviously, she never got past the title. The word "Da" must have been too big for her to remember. Sarah, with an "s", was classy and polite and didn't bother to start something by correcting the Skank.

Eventually, Skank got off the bus and the others on the bus couldn't wait to chime in. One said something like "I think she's a hooker." Someone else came back with the best line of all... "You mean a hooker...with an 'H'? "

Some people are just fun!

HERE I AM !!

Sorry if you thought I'd forgotten you!! I'm just having a hard time putting together my book. Every blog I post is one less for the book. I decided I've neglected you all far too long, so I'm gonna post a couple blogs for you. The book will get there eventually!! I'm doing laundry and other stuff in between...but they're on the way! Today....soon! I promise!

Thanks for your patience!