Bus Report #167

On my way down the hill yesterday afternoon to catch the bus, a truck sped by and a man leaned out and shouted, "HI!" It was the Confederacy Of Dunces Guy. I shouted back and waved.

This morning the only people at the 22 Fillmore stop were me, the dreadlocked security guard, and the Watchtower ladies. I said good morning to all of them, then the Watchtower ladies tried to give me some pamphlets.
I politely declined.
Our driver was one of the friendly ones, so he got a hello and good morning, too.
So much good will so early in the day.

Bus Report #166

This morning the area outside the Fillmore Auditorium was littered with stickers and fliers and big construction paper signs in different colors. I kicked over a pile of discarded signs. In bright magic marker, they read:
Good Charlotte Rulez!
Good Charlotte Rocks!

Ah, Good Charlotte. That explains the Hot Topic-ed out kids that were waiting in front of the Fillmore yesterday morning at 7 AM.

At the bus stop I talked to the dreadlocked security guard. There were a lot of people waiting, so I braced myself for a crowded bus. Luckily, it was no more crowded than usual, and Carmen had saved me a seat.
We talked the whole ride. She is such a sweetheart.

At Mission Street our bus got crowded. Kids and adults were packed in worse than usual.

I exchanged a 'what-can-you-do?' smile with a Cor-O-Van guy.

At my stop, I had to climb over the sweatshop lady next to me ( I think she got hit in the face with my bag but I am not sure. Next time she should just stand up, it's safer!)and push past some teenagers standing in the step well.

It was a typical commute. As I was walking down 16th, I ran in to Ebony who was getting off another packed 22 Fillmore. We chatted a little and then went our separate ways.

Bus Report #165

Today I went to the P.H for brunch with the Teacher's Pet. On the 22, there was a crazy man, cursing loudly at everyone, coming on to every woman brave enough to sit nearby him. At one point, the driver told him to cut it out, but he didn't and she didn't bother throwing him off the bus.
At Mission he was still going, swearing and tirading... Until a friend of his got on the bus.
"Fucking assholes, fucking bitches, oh, hey John, what's happening?"
It was pretty funny.

After brunch the Teacher's Pet and I stopped in at Community Thrift. I got what I had come for, a cast iron frying pan, and she got a stuffed tiger for an upcoming performance.
We took them on BART to the movies at Embarcadero.
Here are some photos of the Tiger and the Frying Pan on their first adventure:

Bus Report #164

Excitement on the 38!

It's true! The most boring bus line actually had a spark of excitement today.

An older gentleman wearing a Star Trek jacket stood up and grabbed hold of a hanging strap, intending on making his way to the back door, where I was already waiting for my stop.
He started to walk toward the door when suddenly the strap broke and he was left clutching a useless black strap of nylon while trying to regain his balance on the moving bus!
We all watched, worried, as he started to tip over. He lurched in the other direction, and luckily got his balance back before he hurt himself.

He looked at the broken strap, shrugged, and threw it on the floor.

I let him get out the bus before me.

Only fair.

Bus Report #163

This morning it was deliciously foggy outside. I rode the 38 down Geary without being able to see much at all, except the marquee at the Bridge Theater advertising a movie called Three Dollars.

For the second day in a row Carmen and I were so busy chatting on the 22 Fillmore that she almost missed her stop. We had been looking at pictures from her latest trip to Mexico.
She said, "You need to bring your Nicaragua pictures."
I said, "Well, I will, but they look a lot like your pictures, only different people... and poorer."
The bus turned at Church and 16th Street. I said, "Hey, maybe we should signal for your stop, unless you want to come have a coffee and come to work with me."
I pulled the rope for her, and laughing as she got out of the bus she said, "Have a great day."

Bus Report #162

There was a brilliant sunrise this morning, all orange and pink and bright.
The Russian Businessman and I admired it.
He pointed towards the other end of Geary. "Look," he said. "It looks like those buildings are on fire."
I looked where he was pointing. A row of buildings shimmered with orange light, the reflection of the sunrise.
"It's only on the buildings, not on the dome of the church," he pointed out.
It was beautiful.

Bus Report #161

Yesterday's Report:

I went out to wait for the 38 Geary at my usual time. There were police cars and some signal flares a couple of blocks up but I did not really pay any attention, until I noticed that all the buses were turning onto Park Presidio and not coming back.

Most annoying about this was the fact that the accident up ahead was not life-threatening and any one of the cops milling around could have walked down to our stop to tell us that we would not be able to catch our bus there.

Finally, after watching four 38 Gearys turn and not resurface, I walked down to the next stop with a couple other regulars. The Russian businessman made polite conversation as always. A woman was freaking out about catching the express bus. We looked at her and the businessman said, "Don't worry, you can get it here."
So we caught a bus, but ten minutes later than normal.
At Fillmore it was obvious I had missed my regular bus. When one finally came it was very packed already, but I managed to get a seat.
At Church and 16th Street the wires came down. Not a surprise because it seems to happen at that intersection all the time, but still.
Got to work later than I wanted to, and no time for coffee.

Bus Report #160

I just spent the weekend in Los Angeles visiting the Professor. It was a lot of fun. We did a lot of things, including taking the LA Metro from his place downtown to the Central Library. LA Metro is very clean and very empty, how strange! No one really uses it because it only covers a small swath of the city. Their loss.

Back on MUNI yesterday. At Fillmore the dreadlocked security guard asked me how my little vacation was. I told him great, and thank you.

Carmen had saved me a seat on the 22, so we spent our commute chatting the whole time. Other regulars came on at their usual stops: Ebony, Keith, the Chef.

In the afternoon Ramon was at the bus stop. We caught up with each other and discussed movies until he got out at Church and Market.

I ended my day on a 4 Sutter. The sign on the front of the bus says that the last stop is at 6th and California, but I took it to Clement and 8th. Good to know!