I'm back from vacation in sunny San Francisco (Seriously, it was sunny despite a forecasted thunderstorm AND earthquake)! As we ran around the city we used the awesome MUNI and BART transit to get around. As any of you from a city can attest, you'll always meet interesting folks while riding a bus. Here's our best story:

Heading north on the 47 towards the Warf (Go Alcatraz!) a mostly blind woman got on the bus, loudly asking if anyone knew where a certain bank was on California Street. Nobody knew, and as she sat down exclaimed, "EXCUSE ME, SIR, DO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT BANK IS." She asked this several more times before the woman sitting next to her realized that SHE was being the one being talked to, having been mistaken for a man. The rest of the bus held back a bit of laughter at this poor woman's expense as she told the lady she did not know where the bank in question was.

A few minutes later our blind rider began to talk to herself in very loud tones, cursing the banks and every organization and association she could think of that may, in some obscure way, be connected to the bank. Like... the department of energy? Housing? Homeowners association... This list went on for about 20 minutes and was still going on as she left in search of the bank.

My only other decent story happened as we left the F train coming back from the Warf. Right after getting off the bus we were waiting at the light. The guy standing next to me was looking the wrong way and stepped out into the street.... right into a jogger. The guy got HIT BY A JOGGER. After apologizing profusely to this poor girl he stepped back onto the pavement, at which point I turned and said to him, "That's probably not a great way to meet girls, but I've seen worse ideas."

So what's your best public transit story? Gross? Dangerous? It's hard, but leave out any details that are inappropriate for the younger readers!




Words from The Fool:

Ever wonder why San Francisco and several other cities have an electric grid the buses run on, while most others have the pollution creating non-gridded buses? Look no further than Rockafeller. In order to force our subsistence on oil, Rockafeller would purchase public transit companies and literally run them into the ground, removing any technology that would be an alternative to oil and limiting services in many places to force the use of oil guzzling cars. Only a few cities held out against his schemes and few that did fall ever recovered enough to boast a transit system even remotely close to the quality you see in cities like SF. History...No fooling.

Let me share.
The crime here is high. I decided to travel on the bus for the first time since I forgot to bring money for a taxi. I sat and use my mobile. The guy next to me took out a gun and placed it on my head. Then he took my mobile nd then left before I could do.anything. So yeah... sad.

Oh, bus stories. Nothing as dangerous as theone, but here's some entertaining ones:

My friends and I were waiting for a bus at a bus stop. Some idiots egged us. The bus was late. When the bus finally came, some drunken idiots wouldn't move from the front and had to be shoved back to make room. The bus was so packed that my tiny friend had to grab onto another friend because there was no room for her to hold onto the bar. Most of the people on the bus also started singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall", than "I believe I can fly", and finally "I wanna be a mighty king". Finally we made it back on campus in one piece.

Another story:
My whole class (bout 36 kids) took a bus back to school. However, the bus driver only let half the people off the bus while the rest of us including the teacher was still on it. She drove a few blocks down while the teacher was yelling at her to stop. The kids that were let out had to chase after the bus. Eventually the bus driver let us all off the bus and we regrouped with the ppl who were let out first. Fun day.

Another time this crazy bus driver was cursing at us and making us get out of our seats for no reason. She'd also start cackling madly. I quickly got off that bus at the next bus stop and waited for another. Luckily another came a few minutes after the crazy one left.

I'm not sure that this exactly fits into 'public transit', but whatever.

The nearest airport (that's large enough to actually go anywhere from) to my home is the Denver International Airport. It's basically a massive hunk of concrete with tarp-like things draped over the top (it sounds unattractive, but it's really not that bad). Anyways, besides the facade, the airport is rather badly designed. As in, all but one of the gates is only accessible by a subterranean train that easily and often breaks down. The trains themselves are also badly designed, the worst flaw being a rude pre-recorded address to anyone who goes through the doors when the train wants to leave. She says something along the lines of, "Please remove yourself from the sliding doors. You are delaying this train," in an awful voice. It's both funny and terrifying.

So one very crowded day (and I believe this was before a ride to St. Louis), I board the train and stand there with my bag in one hand and a handle in another. The train is about to leave. As the doors are closing, a family dashes in, triggering the train-woman's self-important speech. The mother/wife glares at the doors for a minute. Then she starts swearing loudly at the woman's voice, her speech going something like this: @#$#@#$ woman! You @#$%%^%^ $#$%#$. You don't know what the #@#$ I had to deal with $%#$%#$ $#%#$. @#$#@% @#$#@$@ you @$@$#@ $#@$. Then, realizing that the woman's voice was not a real person, she hurried to the seats at the end of the train with her two small daughters in tow, both wide-eyed with their mouths open. Unfortunately for the woman, the crowd on the train did not even attempt to withhold their laughter.

Another story I have was in Paris. We boarded the subway very late at night with a couple straggling tourists and some locals and quickly noticed a large woman snoozing in the corner with an, ah -- inappropriate amount of breast showing. Apparently not realizing that it was not Mardi Gras, she was also decked out in flashy beads and what I assume was costume jewelry, as well as a moth-eaten feathered hat and Nike tennis shoes. As far as a shirt was concerned, I couldn't seem to find one. Weirdly enough, she did not smell at all of alcohol. A couple of stops before ours she woke up and, completely un-self-conscious, filed out of the train. I still have no idea what she was doing, but she was a vivid character. Paris was a weird city.

They're not bus stories, but they are train stories.

well i will try to keep this child appropriate, but considering that i AM a child. a 15 year old child......

anyway, I was on an airplane with my mom late at night (we got on it at like 10 at night) so my mom fell asleep as soon as we took off. I was left to bade my time, and the guy I was stuck next to looked over and started chatting with me. he offered to watch a movie with me (this guy was, like, 50) so I did, but it got a little creepy so I opted out after a bit (it was Batman returns, it was very disturbing). anyway, I was reading a book or whatever, when I realized the guy has stopped watching the movie. I looked up and smiled at him, then he began to chat with me some more. no harm so far.

then he started asking me all these personal questions. like "do you have a boyfriend? a girl like you should have one, you are quite pretty" and other stuff like "where in *insert state we were traveling to here* do you live?" and the whole time he was looking directly at my chest (I admit, I wasn't wearing the most suitable shirt for a plane ride with strangers, but I was wearing a jacket. I zipped it up but he kept staring) anyway, the plane ride lasted only two hours, so I got out soon enough, but boy was I freaked. he offered to help me with my bags, even though I only had my purse, which was held in my hands. I woke up my mom and high-tailed it out of there as soon as we got the chance.

@pinkjag: That sounds kind of creepy, but it could've just been a misunderstanding. I mean, a lot of older people like to spend time with younger people as friends, and maybe he was just being friendly. But then again, maybe not... >.>

@pinkjaguar: without an objective observer, I can't tell if its creepy or if he's just being the chatty grandpa looking for someone to talk to because no one would talk to him.

It's possible that because you were uncomfortable that you are painting your memories like that.

On another note: How is batman return disturbing? That was one of my childhood movies along with terminator, total recall, aliens, lil shop of horror....hmm 3 R rated movies and another featuring a man-eating plant. XD

Someday I can be the creepy old man... someday. I have dreams!

I'm really glad nobody has ever pulled a weapon on me on any form of transit. That would ruin my whole day. I've gotten into a few bar fights though. A foolish thing to do!

When our family went to this European country years ago, we headed towards a hotel by bus. My uncle sat down beside an old lady while I sat down next to him. The old lady pointed her house to my uncle when the bus stopped in the middle of a traffic. My uncle asked why she did not step down at that moment. The old lady giggled a bit and said that she could not because they are not yet at the bus stop.

I for one got ashamed because here in the Ph, we load/unload on PUVs anywhere on the road, not on the authorized bus stops.

@KTC i think I just got freaked out by the whole scene SPOILER ALERT where she wakes up after being pushed out that window and goes into that rage. it was a cool movie, but sometimes stuff happened that just didn't make much sense. plus,u gotta admit Tim Burton is a VERY creative director. as in, sometimes his movies have some weird parts in them.

@everyone else I guess I could have been imagining it, but you try telling yourself that after an older man has stared at your female partially exposed chest for two long hours.

@pink:

batman: that's not disturbing or creepy. I'd say the movie is pretty straight forward in terms of plot and I didn't have much of an issue making sense of it. Eh, differing movie opinions. *shrugs*

older man: By being uncomfortable, it's possible you were being paranoid about the man which would distort you you perceive his actions.

@movie. whatevs lol

@old man.

um.......he was freaking staring at my breasts. how am i being paranoid? it was my breasts, i was wearing a low-cut shirt, and he was talking about how pretty I was without taking his eyes off my chest. how is this paranoid? frankly it scared the heck out of me.

@oldman: people can easily trick themselves into thinking that things are happening to them that aren't. Like how they think everyone's watching them and look up and think eyes are on them. When they are not.

When one is afraid/uncomfortable, their mental processes aren't the same as when they are rational. See paranoia.

@KTC: Then again, I think you've started convincing yourself the old man is innocent. Frankly, without anyone but pinkjag actually being there, we have no idea whether the man was a pervert or just friendly. =)

thanks ipink. i guess you can see the best in people KTC. that's a good trait to have.

@ipink/pink: naw, I just don't have enough information to say whether the man is being creepy or not and giving my reasons why.

We are only getting the information from pinkjaguar who is a participant and was obviously not entirely objective. She was emotionally distraught, which will taint everything of the experience itself.

We have two possible outcomes of this situation:
1. the man was watching pink and being creepy.

2. Pink, by being uncomfortable with the stranger, thinks the man is watching her which than distorts everything she perceives so that it matches what she thinks. Another way to think of it is as a self fulfilling prophecy.

Factoring the emotional taint on the memories and lack of a more objective viewer, I cannot conclude if this guy was being creepy or not.

My girlfriend is always giving me that "Hey, my eyes are up here" line. Take it as a compliment!

If she thought it was creepy, it WAS creepy, intentional or not.

Old people... they got nothing to lose, right? Why not enjoy the scenery.

I think we've spent enough time discussing Pink's breasts. Give me MOAR HORROR STORIES!.

-Fool

well one of my friends was on a bus out of NYC that someone tried to hijack with a switchblade or something. good thing was they hadn't reached the lincoln tunnel yet so the bus driver was able to pull over and some guy on the bus called 911. what things people will do if they can't afford a cab, huh?

how bout almost throwing up on the bus story?

I had a fever, cough, the whole evil cold thing, and was miserable. Bus was packed so it was 45 minutes of standing and making sure I didn't puke over everyone. That was a very very bad day.

In one long bus journey I met the Vidallia Onion Queen, a gangster, a millionaire, and a lady of the night. They all were characters and loved to talk about themselves and their adventures.