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.

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.

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!

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.