Friday, December 18, 2009

Litter Bug & Change Man

I was shocked that someone would just crack open a bus window and throw out a bottle of Faygo pop. This was an older guy who should have known better. The buses now have trash cans located at the front of the bus where he could have discarded it or he could have left it for someone to take the returnable back. He was near the front of the bus. I don't get it. This man was just a litter-bug, slob.
The other entertaining event on this ride was a young man using change to pay for his bus fare. It must have been all small coins because it took him half a mile to pay his fare. It was one of those things where you thought he was done and he would go back into his pants to grab more change and switching from left to right pockets.
bus rides = entertainment

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Will Not Be Posting For A While...

So our regular readers will have to settle for Patrick's posts. I unfortunately have become a victim of the economy, so will not be riding the bus for a while. But I just may include some of the observations that I see while driving around town! Stay tuned!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Singing Man

I don't need to tell anyone waiting for the bus this week that it has been freezing cold with the wicked wind chill. My ride into Detroit this morning was pretty average. I did get a little concerned when the bus was in the center lane of traffic and at the last minute whipped over to pick me up. It would not have been nice to wait for the next bus out there. It was not crowded today on the bus so I got to sit in a seat all to myself. When we reached Mt. Elliot an older man rang the bell and took a few seconds to rise out of his seat. He had a suitcase with him and he started to sing as he exited the bus. It made me chuckle so thank you old man with the suitcase.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Regular Riders

The bus regulars tend to form bonds and friendships especially if they have ridden together for years in this shared environment. I too have formed bonds with various regular riders; you chat about different subjects, joke, laugh, listened and experience the ambiance of the bus experience. It's interesting to me that you can put total strangers together for an extended period of time and they will form friendships. Some people just click together depending on their personality. I suppose it's like school and the classmates you have throughout the entire 13+/- years but a little less static. People come and go depending on what their situation is, of course. I have formed some friendships that have developed over the years with folks on the bus. I would consider these regular bus buddies to be more like a work buddy than an acquaintance.

This morning I finally got my lazy butt out of bed at a decent hour and was able to catch the last limited run downtown and was greeted by an eager bus buddy in the back waving wildly that there was a seat in the rear with the "limited gang". They are loud but fun - kind of like me! I felt like I was allowed to be in with the popular morning bus crowd - I had arrived! (I'm laughing at myself). It's nice and I was able to keep up with the ongoing banter and contribute. I even teased one with the others chiming in to razz him. It also makes the bus ride more enjoyable and not such a boring ride.
bus rides = entertainment.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Knocked Around This Morning

This morning was rollicking fun. I boarded the bus and away we went and so did I. I caught my balance and inadvertently stepped on a ladies foot and apologized and fell into a seat. I didn't put all my force on her foot and she was real nice about it. I was in the front seat that sits sideways and she and a guy were in the first seat next to me. The stop requested chain was pulled and the guy that was sitting next to me was clearing getting up to prepare his exit and the brakes came on and he fell on me all the while holding a grocery bag. What can you do? You know it isn't any one's fault when the driver is overly brake happy. I was a little disappointed that he neglected to apologize for laying on me. Maybe he was embarrassed or had no voice. Or maybe he was real sleepy or on drugs - oh well, not that big of a deal. The lady I stepped on did comment that every one's equilibrium was off this morning - nice way to put it.
bus rides = entertainment.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Bombarded With Noise

Last evening on the way home I was bombarded by a young man's electronic device. I turned around and asked nicely if he could turn it down and his reply was, "If I turn it down I won't be able to hear it." He didn't turn it down so I stopped trying to trudge through my magazine article and turned around to watch what we were all subjected to. I stated that since I had to hear I may as well watch. A fellow regular rider asked what I was watching and the young man responded, "ESPN." I didn't stay turned around for long. All I could think of was that young man needs to invest in some ear buds and to learn when someone is being sarcastic. I know it's not allowed on the bus but I was willing to cut him so slack but alas he didn't compromise. Very intrusive. This morning a regular rider caught my attention as I was folding my umbrella and said she liked my handling of the situation and was thankful that I said something. if more people would say something I wouldn't feel like the bad ass all the time. Oh well.
bus rides = entertainment

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Front Door Only

The bus driver decided that she no longer wanted the passengers to use the back door and made an announcement that everyone had to come up to the front of the bus. Her announcing voice needs work – major breath support work. Only half the bus heard her and subsequently had to tell several exiting passengers at the rear of the bus to exit the front. I stood up for them by yelling that the announcement was not heard at the back of the bus. She took exception to it but the truth is it’s stupid to not let passengers exit from the back. It just seemed like it was a decision made on a whim. SMART has postings in the overhead advertisement space that we should keep the bus moving by exiting the rear door.
Bus rides = entertainment

Friday, September 4, 2009

Happy bus rider


Waiting and Waiting

Wow! when the streets in Detroit shut down it takes a long time for the traffic to move. Waited 30 minutes for a bus. Good thing I had a novel to read and the weather was nice. I also got to chat with a fellow rider who obviously has noticed where I board and exit the bus in Eastpointe. I've always had patience. It's all good - events are good for the city and it's people.
bus rides = entertainment

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

OMG! It's the Schoenherr BUS!!!

Picked up a couple of passengers this morning who were quite enthused about the bus. The man in particular. He gets on and in a loud voice exclaims "OMG!! ITS THE SCHOENHERR BUS!! I'VE NEVER SEEN THE SCHOENHERR BUS!!" All of us regulars were chuckling under our breath. Honestly, I thought the guy was going to try to hug the driver or something.

We continued for about a mile and they got off. Everyone had a good laugh. The driver said he never had anyone express their happiness at seeing him quite that much. "He was quite animated." Quite the understatement.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

SMART Needs To Be Renamed

Sometimes I feel SMART needs to be renamed because they do stupid things. As a service entity they should put the passenger/customer 1st but they do not. The bus was quite late this morning due to it being a bus that needed to be repaired. It was running super slow. When we got to Conner the bus in front of us was stopped and the driver came back and offered to take our bus passengers that were stopping along Gratiot and she could proceed with the passengers that were headed right downtown. The driver stated that at this point it didn't matter as we were already close to downtown. Our driver also said to the other driver that she called SMART when she was 10 minutes out to request a better bus but didn't get a response. Whomever made the decision at the office was not thinking of their passengers because the lack of a decent bus made everyone late. This type of issue happens frequently with SMART. How is that for poor service?
Bus rides = entertainment

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bicycle, Bicycle...

Why are people fascinated with my bicycle? It's not particularly stunning, or loud, or eye-catching in any way. Except for the seat. I'll get to that in a moment. I ride my bike up to the bus stop and then catch the bus from there. It's simply a matter of lifting the bike that is the hardest part. Sometimes the drivers are kind enough to lower the front of the bus to help me out; sometimes not. But all of them, and a few passengers too, just LOVE the fact that I ride my bike, and think it's just the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And the seat. Well, the bike came with that standard, pelvic bone-breaking shape that just does not fit my anatomy. I have a big bum, and, while I'm not proud of it, it is there, and it needs support, darn it! It's a well padded gel seat, and I just love it. Makes the trip a heck of a lot more pleasurable. But everyone wants to know where I got it, and for the record, I got it at Fraser Bike Shop for around $50. Well worth it!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Exciting Wait

Last night after work the folks at the bus stop got quite a show. There were a large number of city workers picketing in front of and around the city-county building. They were exuberantly exercising their right to assemble. After several minutes of the picketers walking around Woodward and Larned among the people waiting for buses, a fight broke out between two guys. People were jeering them on and it spilled out into the street and across the street and after a couple brief lulls it started up again. The one guy was on a bike and came back for more and the other guy knocked him off the bike. They again proceeded into the street and at this time the one guy had his shirt ripped off. The police arrived after one guy took off and were blocking the bus stop for a period. We got on the bus and had to wait for other vehicles to clear out so we could move on. After we turned onto Randolph and picked up a couple people we took off and down the street a guy stepped out in front of our bus as if he didn't know traffic was approaching. The driver quickly braked and we all held on and that is when I asked loudly, "is there a full moon tonight?", which got a few laughs. All in all it was a chaotic wait.
Bus rides = entertainment

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

LOONY PEOPLE OR LONELY PEOPLE

An older woman in an embellished scooter approached me at my bus stop this morning stating that I looked just like the man at the candy store. She was a little confused because she pointed at the wrong building. I see the man going to work everyday and the only thing we have in common is height and a messenger bag. I stated, "you mean that guy right there?", as he was walking in the front door of the candy store. She had to turn her scooter around to the north to see. She pointed out that her eyesight isn't so good and that as she got closer to me the only thing we had in common was the "purse" because he had a little beard. She continued, "You know it's a purse. You don't see many men wearing one around here." I informed her that a lot of men have the messenger bags in Detroit. "Do you work at a bank? I see you have your cell phone on you." I informed her that I work at a law firm in Detroit. She elaborated, "I'm a hairdresser and I went on this mission to the prison one time to cut hair. I had to take dull scissors. Did you know they don't allow shampoo in there? They don't even allow paper back books. They said the cardboard is too stiff. There was a doctor and an attorney there waiting too. Well they didn't end up letting me in to cut hair. I was glad in the long run. It was scary." She then proceeded to take off down the side walk. I couldn't help but wonder was she loony or lonely? Maybe a little of both.
Bus rides = entertainment

Fashion Sense

Boy, my ride home yesterday was an eye opener in fashion. This fella could have taken some serious lessons from Bruno!

He walked up and was talking to the driver so I had a good, long look. He had on a white, gray and black plaid shirt, paired with white, red, and black plaid shorts. Heavy emphasis on the red. It was pretty hard to look at. To top off this ensemble, he had on the requisite too big baseball cap, laden with all of Swarovski's current stock of rhinestones spelling out the Old English 'D' of the Detroit Tigers.

Have to say, it was quite the sight!

Friday, July 10, 2009

SPITTER

The bus this morning was not as full as it usually is so I was able to get a seat at the back of the bus. I cracked the window for a nice breeze and was enjoying the ride when all of a sudden this big guy hawks up a loogy opens the window in front of me and spits and turns around. Apparently the look on my face must have been telling because he turned back around and apologized, "I hope I didn't spit on you and if I did I apologize". Thank goodness he didn't spit on me. That phrase was supposed to make it all better? If he would have spit on me I'm not sure what I would have done - kicked his giant ass? Probably not. Spit on him? Maybe. I swear people are in their own little worlds.
Bus rides = entertainment.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Smelly Guy

Let me tell you it was a smelly ride into Detroit this morning for me. The Limited 565 bus was crowded and I happened to sit near the back door next to an old guy. The bus was in my opinion a bit stuffy and I kept smelling this stale beer and cigarette aroma so I faced away from the old guy to try and avoid his direction. He was moving a bit so I looked over at him and low and behold he was drinking a wine cooler. Well that solved the mystery of the bar room stench.
Bus rides = entertainment.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Urine Express

This morning was a smell adventure on the way into downtown. The air was turned on but because it reeked of urine a lot of the windows were cracked open. I felt like I was in a smelly nursing home with no way out.
Bus rides = entertainment

Friday, April 24, 2009

Do People Realize?

Yes, cell phones are a real convenience but it seems some people forget that they are in public. A man on the bus this morning was talking on his cell phone about his incarceration last night. He went into real detail about going to the casino with his buddies, like being intoxicated; getting pulled over on Eight Mile by the police; being handcuffed and put in the car; having to pay a bench warrant; on and on and on. Now, I'm sure this man is a decent enough guy but some things are just way to personal to have the entire bus listen in on.
Bus ride = entertainment

Monday, April 13, 2009

Holy Rollers at the Bus Stop...

My co-worker is a magnet for crazy people. He and I were just standing there on Good Friday afternoon, waiting for our respective buses to come along. We heard some shouting and hollering by the main stop but didn't think much of it. A DDOT bus came along and picked up some passengers. Turns out all the yelling was coming from a young black man preaching "the word" to a black female. I think she was egging him on because they were really having a good time. She escaped by getting on the bus.

The crazy turned, eyeballing the crowd, looking for more prey. I saw him looking, and half-turned toward my co-worker, hoping to look insignificant. Too late. Here he came, straight for my CW. He was actually a bit alarming, because he came right up into our faces. He was shouting in our faces about Christ, God, Jesus, the whole nine yards. CW said something like "I know all about that, get out of my face." His bus came right at that moment, but the guy followed him all the way to the entrance. He finally escaped and the guy left. Thank goodness my bus came very shortly afterwards and I escaped as well!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

I Had To Laugh

The bus ride into town this morning was a pleasant one. Plenty of room to sit and quite peaceful. Our driver is one to the nicest guys with a big bright smile. Sometimes I get annoyed at that cheery morning person but not this guy. He announces each major street we approach, which is good for those people who fall asleep or aren't sure where we are located. Well, being of the mindset that some situations can be made funny, I was thinking it would be hilarious if the driver announced other things we are approaching to see if people noticed. And just as we approached the railroad tracks a fellow passenger pantomimed announcing the railroad tracks and I lost it. It made me laugh and of course he didn't think anyone heard him. You've got to love a laugh in the morning.
Bus rides = entertainment

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Dread Monday...



Wow. Look at this image of beauty. Now, granted, I have an issue with dreadlocks to begin with, but this takes the cake. The ones on this woman just looked bad. She looked like a reddish brown Komodore. She had the tail at the end knotted up so it would not drag the ground. I guess I have to give her credit, because I worry about what I look like to others. She certainly did not!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Recognized

I was at a local bar last night with some friends watching some games and playing video golf. We had a table in the middle of the joint. There was this short, homely woman hunkered down at the bar along with a plethora of regulars. I would periodically catch her checking us out while looking at the various television screens. Later on she proceeded to wave and smile. When my one friend went to the end of the bar to chat with a friend I was going to go over so I wasn't alone and she flagged me down. Not to be totally rude I mentioned that she looked familiar and that I noticed her from the Gratiot bus. She asked me if my friend was my son and I said no. She, feeling no pain, proceeded to slur that she always try to talk to me on the bus. I told her that I try to keep to myself. While she was talking to me she was very obviously raising her eyebrows, giving me the elevator eyes, winking and touching me. I played real dumb to not notice the flirty advances but it actually made her do it more - sad but true. I just couldn't get past looking at her awful teeth on that moon shaped face. It's too bad some people can't afford a dental visit. She was trying to tell me that she was accosted at gun point of a guy asking for a sexual favor. Why? I don't know. I excused myself to make my way over to the end of the bar where my friend was and join in the conversation and wouldn't you know it the persistent homely woman came over to be next to me. I tried hard to ignore her. I finally excused myself and went to the men's room and upon exiting gave my goodbyes to walk home. As I was leaving the bar the woman was calling and waving for me to come back but I never looked back. Whew. Maybe she won't remember the episode if I run into her on the bus.
Bus rides = entertainment

Spitter

I was at work later than usual last evening so the bus I caught was not crowded. One thing that was kind of vulgar was a large guy shot out of his seat, opened the window in front of him put his head out and spit. He sat down but not before hiking up his sweatpants. If it weren't for undershorts I would have been mooned by extra large crackage.
Bus rides = entertainment

There are hairstyles, and then there are hairstyles...

White women just do NOT look good in cornrows. I'm sorry, but the only reason men went gaga over Bo Derek is not because of her looks, but because of her body.

Consider my bus ride today. Took the VanDyke run because I parked by my cousin's house. Sat down and was presented with the back of a white woman's head in cornrows. Yuk!! It was pulled back into a ponytail at the back of her head, and just looked terrible. She didn't seem to have all the fly-aways that occur with Caucasian hair, so maybe she applies something to smooth it down. And to complete the picture, she was talking on a cell and sounded like a ghetto black person. Yes, I know it all sounds very racist, and I apologize for it, but how in the world does one expect to get a half way decent job looking and sounding like that? Takes all kinds I guess!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Van Dyke? NO, SCHOENHERR!!

Waiting for the bus the other day in the warm but very windy and rainy day, I had an interesting encounter. I had just stepped towards the curb when I spied my bus coming up Larned (530/Schoenherr). I had a lady peer around the edge of my umbrella (I have one of those massive golf numbers) and inquire if the bus I was waiting for went to 10 Mile. I said, "10 Mile and Schoenherr." She said, "10 Mile and Van Dyke?" I said, "No, 10 Mile and Schoenherr." Weird. It's not like you didn't have a clue which street it rides up. It clearly read Schoenherr on the marquee. Fun, fun, fun!!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Crowded bus - polite people

Last evening on the Limited run home it was quite crowded. It's also nice to see people looking out for their fellow bus-mates. I had to chuckle over two folks bantering about who should stand and who should sit and the reasoning behind it. It was the usual easy ride home watching folks try to wave down the limited bus and not understanding why the bus will not stop to pick them up.
bus = entertainment

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Ample Nap Time

Snowy, sloppy days like these seem to bring about a nap-time on the bus. It's crowded and quiet and the travel time is doubled- so why not. I for one have never been able to nap on the bus because I feel I need to know what is going on. I recall going home one evening last winter when a lot of folks on the bus were napping and a gentleman got on at around six mile and asked out loud if there was a gas leak on the bus. I suppose it would seem weird to enter a bus and half the folks are napping. It made me chuckle.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Mislabled Bus!

Sometimes things aren't what they seem to be. Last evening nothing seemed out of the ordinary when I boarded the 560 to go home. It didn't faze me even when the bus driver turned toward Jefferson Ave. because periodically drivers will get around a bottle-neck at I-375 and take a short detour to get onto the service drive and back on track. I was busy reading my book on a quiet bus when I noticed one of the regular 560 riders in front of me go up to the driver. when I looked up we were on Jefferson Ave. heading East. A sinking feeling came over me. We were on the wrong bus. The driver insisted that we were on the 620 and even went out to look at the sign which was obviously malfunctioning. I thought we may be stuck on the bus all the way to Macomb Mall and then would have to catch a Southbound Gratiot bus. The driver phoned in to find out what to do with us. After waiting for about ten to fifteen minutes she drove us back downtown. She even went back to Griswold to pick up the 620 riders that thought it was a 560 and dropped us 560 people off on Larned at Woodward. Well that added about 30 minutes to my evening commute but it could have been worse.
bus rides = entertainment.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Ewwww!!

Today did not augur well this morning. The bus was 12 minutes late, and it was decidedly cold, and is supposed to get colder this week. Brr!

So I get on, and greet one of my co-worker who happened to be sitting across from me. I opened a book and started to read. Presently, I became aware of a man who sat next to my co-worker. Two things that readily grabbed one's attention. One, that he reeked of men's cologne. What is it with people who feel that they must bath in cologne in order to smell pleasant? Anyways, that was bearable. What was nearly unbearable, and in fact I would have moved if I could have, was the fact that this guy kept snorting in order to clear his sinuses every few seconds. If this wasn't bad enough, he kept blowing his nose into his hand and then wiping it on his pants!! OMG!! Gross is an understatement. And my poor co-worker was stuck sitting next to him!! What a start to the week!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Not wanting to look rude - but my foot is killing me.

I've been taking the 560 regularly now since December 29th to minimize my walking. I found out that I did indeed fracture my middle toe on Christmas Day playing with my nephew.

Today I had to stand for a little bit on the bus. I offered the open seat to one of the regular riders (he is older). He asked me if I had a nice holiday and I said I did. I asked him if he did and he did. He continued to talk and was telling me about his adventure of scoping out a college for his son. I was in need of finding a seat so after we made a stop I announced that I was going to grab one of the open seats in the rear. I felt bad because I know he wanted to talk but my foot was throbbing.