Bus Report #541
I had two goals today, one lofty and perhaps unrealistic, and one that could be easily done in a short amount of time with minimal hassle and decent returns.
Homework for a deadline this week, and a trip to the Sunset for the Farmer's Market and the Zine Fest.
I checked NextBus before I headed out to the bus stop. The 44 O'Shaughnessy was due in ten minutes.
I walked down to the stop.
There were a few people already waiting: a German woman who was studying Hebrew and the Talmud, talking with two other ladies, a chain-smoking woman dressed for work in a restaurant kitchen, and a tall man with a feather in his hat. He was carrying a slim green hardcover book that looked antique and a strip of plywood.
The NextBus console said 8 minutes and 8 minutes. Hmm.
We waited, and waited, and NextBus kicked over to 7 minutes and 10 minutes.
And so it went for another fifteen minutes.
Finally, a 44 bus turned up. The driver parked then turned off the bus. She took her backpack into the tiny bathroom (or impossibly tiny break room, I don't know) nearby.
Another bus pulled up behind hers.
She eventually came back out. She put her things back on the bus then leaned out and gestured for us to get on.
"I'm sorry," she said, cheerfully. "A bus broke down in the park, and that's why we're running a little late. Again, I'm sorry, and we'll be leaving in three minutes."
She had a beautiful smile and twinkling pierces in her eyebrow, nose and lower lip. Her eyes were big and brown. She looked pretty and fresh.
"It's not your fault," I said.
"I know, but you all have been waiting," she replied.
She repeated her apology at each stop we made along the route. It was so thoughtful, and not something I ever expect from the drivers.
At Geary, she held her arm out and made people wait to board while a trio of elderly, fragile ladies climbed down from the bus.
"All right," she said once the ladies were off. "No pushing and shoving."
The rest of the passengers were the usual assortment of park-bound tourists and locals, old ladies loaded down with groceries, and the same two comic-book guys I see every time I take the 44.
We got to the park pretty quickly, but there was a lot of traffic once we got past the De Young. Our bus slowed to a molasses crawl.
Our driver did her best to pass some clueless drivers. I was impressed: she got within inches of signs and cars, but didn't hit anything.
I managed to get to the Farmer's Market with half an hour to shop before they closed. Luckily all my favorite vendors were still there, so I was able to get everything I wanted.
If anyone knows anyone in the Richmond who might want a hive of bees in their yard, let me know and I'll pass it along to the honey guy. He has great local honey from all over the city, but not our fair neighborhood, yet.
I also can't say enough about the Modesto Junior College egg people, the Clash-loving cider girl, the empanada guys, the apple woman. If you haven't been to the Farmer's Market, you've got to go.
I spun through the Zine Fest (if you get a chance to go next year, you should. Lots of good stuff, lots of nice folks). I walked to the bus stop and waited with some kids headed towards Toy Boat.
The traffic in the park was still awful. We could see our bus down the block but traffic was inching slowly slowly, so it took a few minutes for it to get to us.
It arrived, we got on, and I was home half an hour later.
That homework? Still working on it.
Homework for a deadline this week, and a trip to the Sunset for the Farmer's Market and the Zine Fest.
I checked NextBus before I headed out to the bus stop. The 44 O'Shaughnessy was due in ten minutes.
I walked down to the stop.
There were a few people already waiting: a German woman who was studying Hebrew and the Talmud, talking with two other ladies, a chain-smoking woman dressed for work in a restaurant kitchen, and a tall man with a feather in his hat. He was carrying a slim green hardcover book that looked antique and a strip of plywood.
The NextBus console said 8 minutes and 8 minutes. Hmm.
We waited, and waited, and NextBus kicked over to 7 minutes and 10 minutes.
And so it went for another fifteen minutes.
Finally, a 44 bus turned up. The driver parked then turned off the bus. She took her backpack into the tiny bathroom (or impossibly tiny break room, I don't know) nearby.
Another bus pulled up behind hers.
She eventually came back out. She put her things back on the bus then leaned out and gestured for us to get on.
"I'm sorry," she said, cheerfully. "A bus broke down in the park, and that's why we're running a little late. Again, I'm sorry, and we'll be leaving in three minutes."
She had a beautiful smile and twinkling pierces in her eyebrow, nose and lower lip. Her eyes were big and brown. She looked pretty and fresh.
"It's not your fault," I said.
"I know, but you all have been waiting," she replied.
She repeated her apology at each stop we made along the route. It was so thoughtful, and not something I ever expect from the drivers.
At Geary, she held her arm out and made people wait to board while a trio of elderly, fragile ladies climbed down from the bus.
"All right," she said once the ladies were off. "No pushing and shoving."
The rest of the passengers were the usual assortment of park-bound tourists and locals, old ladies loaded down with groceries, and the same two comic-book guys I see every time I take the 44.
We got to the park pretty quickly, but there was a lot of traffic once we got past the De Young. Our bus slowed to a molasses crawl.
Our driver did her best to pass some clueless drivers. I was impressed: she got within inches of signs and cars, but didn't hit anything.
I managed to get to the Farmer's Market with half an hour to shop before they closed. Luckily all my favorite vendors were still there, so I was able to get everything I wanted.
If anyone knows anyone in the Richmond who might want a hive of bees in their yard, let me know and I'll pass it along to the honey guy. He has great local honey from all over the city, but not our fair neighborhood, yet.
I also can't say enough about the Modesto Junior College egg people, the Clash-loving cider girl, the empanada guys, the apple woman. If you haven't been to the Farmer's Market, you've got to go.
I spun through the Zine Fest (if you get a chance to go next year, you should. Lots of good stuff, lots of nice folks). I walked to the bus stop and waited with some kids headed towards Toy Boat.
The traffic in the park was still awful. We could see our bus down the block but traffic was inching slowly slowly, so it took a few minutes for it to get to us.
It arrived, we got on, and I was home half an hour later.
That homework? Still working on it.
posted by Rachel at 7:22 PM
2 Comments:
I did the same thing in reverse order. I live by the farmer's market so I checked that out first, then went to a few stores nearby, then to Zine Fest. I shoulda checked in on that Brazilian festival they had next door, it was quite a party! Zine Fest was so much fun, but I had to not take a lot of cash with me to keep from blowing all my cash at once.
The traffic in the park and our neighborhood was horrid, and I wish people would refrain from taking cars on a nice day if they can. That garage fills up fast and there is NO parking on a Sunday in our neighborhood since it is free.
BTW, I finally tried those empanadas, they are WELL worth the money!
I wonder if we passed each other at the market or the zine fest... Sounds like we both had the same idea for Sunday! I wanted to check out the Brazilian festival but time was not on my side. Maybe next year.
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