Blue Moon, Full Bus...

Interesting fails to fully capture my bus ride today. A friendly lady wanted to chat with me at the bus stop. I must have reminded her a little of her sister (she said to me a few times that we were about the same size). It seems that her sister passed away several years ago, just as she was supposed to graduate from high school. It sounds like she was a nice young woman who was very involved in her church and was a busy volunteer. RIP!

The bus was getting pretty crowded and seats were in somewhat short supply. I watched in amazement as an old bitch (sorry, she was) muttered swears and said terrible things under her breathe when a wheel chair rider boarded. The old bitch had to temporarily relocate to make room for the wheel chair to maneuver into the designated spot. I heard her say, "Can't these people ever stay home?" Now, this wheel chair passenger is always very nice. She waves to those around her and thanks them for moving. But the old bitch just stared at her...really, if looks could kill!  I mean, she was seriously cursing out this other passenger.  At one point, she pulled what appeared to be some soap out of her bag, shook it dramatically in the air, and threw it back into her bag.  It was crazy town.

Mr. Butts was also on the bus today .  I didn't see his crack today, but I was puzzled to observe that he was once again sporting another wool cap today.

And lastly, a larger fellow sat next to me (sadly, it was not Mark).  I didn't catch this man's name, but I did catch a whiff of his personal odor, which was a bit too pungent for my liking.

What a ride!

Shh!

When subjected to loud bus talkers, I often wish that there was a silent area of the bus that they could not sit in. Today, these loud women got on. One had an expired transfer, so they had to argue about that with the driver. Once they got on, they started their loud chat. A rider with a wheelchair got on, so they had to relocate. One sat next to me, the other sat across the aisle. Their loud chat continued. They were turned towards each other in such a way that their legs blocked the aisle. Those who wanted to pass them needed to turn sideways in order to do so (which I thought was super rude). Finally, one got off the bus but she had something that belonged to her friend. Her loud friend scampered after her to retrieve a packet from the other loud lady's bag. Of course the light was green while this was happening. Harrumph.

Butts

It's hot out. Today was warm and sunny. I was surprised to see a fellow board the bus, wearing a knit cap, long sleeved, black waffle knit shirt, and dark, heavy long pants. I was even more surprised to see half of his butt crack when he sat down in his seat. Yikes! 

Route 19 is Trouble

Well, I don't know what happened on a route 19 bus today...but I think it's wasn't good.  I passed it as I walked around the block over lunch and it was clearly not in service.  There were about a half dozen transit security officers inside and outside the bus, an MPD vehicle behind it, and a MPD mounted police officer, too (I didn't see the officer, just the horse...and I pet it).

That route 19 must be trouble!

Right Turn in Front of Bus is Illegal

Have you ever seen this sign on the back of a bus?  Yeah, there's a good reason why this is illegal and drivers shouldn't do it.  Cars are much smaller than buses are.

Christmas in July

MCTS is running once again.  Although I did enjoy my walks last week, I also missed my bus.  I had thought about walking home from work today, but didn't as I had other things that I wanted to do.  As you will soon read, I was very happy that I decided to ride.

The stop after I get on the bus is a busy one.  Today was no exception and seats were in short supply.  A man sat next to me and he was a bit of a space hog and strongly smelled of cigarettes.  He had a shout chat with a lady a few seats away, telling her how much he loves his girl.  While the conversation was loud, it was also kinda sweet.  After his shout chat pal left, this fellow turned his attention to me.  I soon found out that his name was Mark.  In addition to being a friendly, chatty fellow, Mark liked to sing.  Mark treated the bus to brief songs about Santa Claus, rainbow colors in the sky, and his final performance was White Christmas.

Between songs, Mark shared with me his love of his girl, his thought that one of the other bus riders would make a good dad, and a little bit about his personal medical history.  He told me that he enjoys riding the bus because he loves visiting with people and making friends.  Mark thanked me for visiting with him, blessed me and my family, and wished me a great summer.  And then he was gone.

Manners

I think the most heartwarming thing about my foray into mass transit is how impressed I am with manners overall.  I have noticed that almost every rider greets the bus driver when boarding the bus with a hello or how are you or similar pleasantry.  And upon exiting, most riders say thank you, which amazes me.  And most will wish the bus driver a good weekend on Friday as well.

I will say that every bus driver I've encountered so far has been extremely pleasant.  My favorite is the afternoon driver on the 5:05 PM bus back home.  She is a young woman and always seems to be in a great mood, even when traffic or weather are bad.  When bad traffic AND bad weather ended up in her missing a turn and ending up turned around off the freeway in Uptown, relying on help from a passenger to help her get back on the route, she was apologetic but still upbeat.  I wish I could be like this bus driver in my work.

Stoppages

I know that my loyal blog readers (all three of them) have been very worried about what the MCTS strike would mean for my afternoon commute (can't really call it an evening commute now can I?) and this blog.  Well, just because they are having a work stoppage doesn't mean that I must have a blog stoppage as well.  So, I decided to brave the urban jungle known as the Oak Leaf Trail and walk it on my way home.

When we left for work this morning, I packed up my REI back pack with necessities for my hike, including a water bottle, socks, and sneaks.  I had not fully decided on my route but thought that the the lake front was the most likely path.

At 2:30, I changed shoes and headed out.  Here I am at Mile 1, in front of the Art Museum.  I was feeling good--my Pandora Summer Hits of the 90's was keeping me moving.

Mile 2: The Brady Street Pedestrian Bridge.  Fatigue was starting to set in.  Why was I doing this?

Mile Unknown: Dangerous Wildlife.  What was this up ahead?  A giraffe?  In the wilds of Milwaukee?  Where am I?

But, something was not right with the giraffe.  While he posed no threat, he lacked life. A tragedy.

Mile 4.5: Civilization!  Otherwise known as the baseball diamond's covered shelter!  Almost home!

All told, it was about a 4.7 mile walk that I completed in 1 hour, 25 minutes.  Of course, there were some stops along the way. I will totally do this again!