Not wanting to be left out, however, we do have buses that spontaneously combust. It gives us a nice bit of post-riot scenery without the bother of having a riot. That's the sign to my village to the left of the bus.
Long time readers may remember that on my old commute to London I had more trains catch fire than arrive on time. And when they started replacing London's iconic double decker buses with "bendy buses" the things were bursting into flames on an almost daily basis. Travelling on England's public transport system is marginally safer than wearing Lady Ga-Ga's meat dress and going swimming with sharks. It's a must for thrill-seekers everywhere.
16 comments:
At least you have trains. At least you now have an employer who allows you to work at home, reducing the need to put up with f**king morons on cell phones (I will gladly join you on that rant), never mind the gun totin' gangsta' wannabes who ride the buses and hang out at the downtown stops.
Going to work in the morning, I'm accompanied mostly by people such as myself, people trying to keep food on the table and roofs over their heads. They (we) are primarily the working poor whose needs are ignored by the professionals (driving to work) and politicians, that is, until someone isn't there to take incoming calls or clean their offices. Most of us enjoy being downtown, but leave as soon as practicable so as not to be caught at the stops much after business hours.
Our city is woefully, laughably behind in the development of its public transportation system. There aren't enough buses and the ones we do have usually aren't scheduled frequently enough. People (read "politicians") are making money off parking garages and fees, so it's not in their interest to encourage/develop commuting.
I started my last job fit as a fiddle. It was highly controlled work environment in which I was required to sit most of my shift. The commute took about 2 hours each way. Sitting. The job was killing people (this could start a rant on psycho-Christian drone managers), so I retired earlier than I should have to save my health/life. With Carl gone AWOL, there was no longer a need to put up with it. I left obese, but active and with a glint of happy still in my eyes.
But I still ride the buses. Or walk.
As I read this my daughter are preparing to board the train to Philly. They love the Amtrak. We have little public transportation to speak of in Boonieville, PA, but my commute is easy. Obama had the audacity to propose improving the railroad system in this country. This pissed off the gas industry and along with his proposal of national health care ignited the fucking stoopid tea party movement. Oh, I could rant forever on this!
Neetsy, I think more of us should start some "plein air" ranting. I was going to e-mail you, but that address isn't on your site. E-mail me, if you like, as mine is available on the blog.
So should people wear fire-retardant suits to protect themselves while riding public transport? "Anti-fire wear" could become a new fashion fad and spur the economy. :-)
The public transport system in Idaho is very limited. If you live outside the Boise city limits, there is no public transport. In Boise, there is a city bus system that runs during limited hours. There are no passenger trains. People who can't drive have to get friends or family to take them around, or pay for a taxi.
That's a thought, Ms M. They should have Nomex dusters made similar to those worn by the first auto passengers. Complete with embarrassing lettering sewn onto the backs, like race car drivers, to humiliate the bus company. I like it. Couple that with a bullet/stab resistant vest for my local busline.
Yay, fun!
I disappear off to the studio for the day and America's public transport system gets sorted out. It certainly sounds like it's being starved to death from lack of funds and lack of imagination. It does seem to me that the word "public" when placed before another word is guaranteed to produce apoplectic rage in US right-wingers.
I think if your cities re-named their public transport systems "private profiteering transport systems" they'd get a lot more backing from Republicans.
None of my buses has caught fire and burned down to its wheel rims tho. Gives new insight into the phrase "I went through hell to get here."
WV: oviso = birth control advice. as in "Do/Don't do it when you're ovulating."
Hee hee. My trains always used to catch fire in the buffet car kitchens but I don't know what the excuse was with this bus … unless someone was trying to cook something on it.
Well ... You're the smart one on this train of thought. Could it have been electrical? Those kinds of fires seem to be horribly quick and thorough once they get started. Or a break in a oil line? Along with all the synthetics in use the poor thing wouldn't stand a chance. Of course, there's the off chance someone left a cig in a cushion? Or a can of Sterno heating a bit of soup?
I think the bus just got so fed up with crawling along my local lanes ferrying old ladies to the cat food shop that it gave up on life and burst into flames from sheer despair.
Oh, that's so damn funny! I guess then the bus had a secret yearning to be a rock star's transport or an F1 driver's rolling **** palace! Or maybe it was ... before being downgraded to old lady transport. Be careful, Dive, 20-30 years from now, when cootage hits ...
The cootage has hit already, Speedway. The closest I get to romance these days is gossiping with the old ladies in the village shop while they bulk buy hairnets and cat food.
Good fashion ideas, Speedway. Now we just need some investors to finance the company :-)
Surely cootage hasn't hit yet, Dive. You said you don't own a large number of cats, and you've been in the studio playing ROCK N ROLL, perhaps Steely Dan?
WV: frifi: a type of lacy hairnet that contains headphones
Oh, wow! I SO want a frifi! A lacy hairnet that plugs into my iPod is just the thing to disguise my balding pate.
And yes, some Dannage was forthcoming yesterday. We played Reeling' In The Years (inevitably) and the guitar solo parts from Kid Charlemagne among others. Luckily for you guys the bass amp was too close to the camera so all you can hear is bass distortion. Perhaps we'll get something postable next time.
I hope you do get something postable next time; we'd be interested to listen....
I'll do my best, Ms.M. I'm constrained by the crappy microphone in my camera, however.
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