The Bus People

If you need, or just want, to experience another side of life....the side of life that contains the people who ride buses....all you have to do is get on a Orange Metro bus in Inglewood, Ca. and switch to the Blue Bus, at LAX, and then proceed to Santa Monica, Ca. If you are really lucky you will get a few wheelchair people, which makes the ride just a bit more interesting. During my bus riding experience I think I encountered a driver who was trying to set the Guinness Book of World Records for most people on a bus. At one point as the driver kept barking," please move to the back...please move to the back" someone from the back finally blurted out, rather loudly, "there's no more room back here." And basically the driver never spoke again and at one point there were so many people on the bus that I had to make a comment about the Record and a young guy standing next to me said," I sure hope I'm on the bus when that record gets set."

The crowded atmosphere was interrupted by a rather intoxicated older gentleman who tried to get a younger man to give up his seat for an older woman. The problem is the older woman told the drinking gourdo that she didn't want to sit down and she could hold on just fine. The potential AA guy wouldn't hear of it and insisted that she sit down, while at the same time telling the young guy to get up and every time he started to get up the women's voice got a little stronger and a little louder, and suddenly Sir Galihadwinodude looked like a complete idiot. I thought the woman was going to whack him with her purse but he finally moved to the front of the bus and departed at the next stop.

I'm quite curious about the percentage of people who ride the bus....who also vote in a Presidential election.

I was on the bus, and I vote, so I know the percentage is not zero. But I feel that the amount of people who own cars but choose to ride the bus, is fairly small. So what's the percentage of people who don't own cars that vote in the Presidential election?

Maybe it's a good place to talk to people about registering to vote.....after all, they are a captive audience....at least until the next stop. I don't care what party they support, but bus advertising would be rather affordable....especially the routes in Inglewood.

I can see it now....Barack vs. Hillary fighting for the bus people's vote. It could get ugly. I don't think Rudy, Mitt or John will be spending a lot of money on that particular crowd.

To think the bus people could be a deciding factor in the next election....times they are changing.

I wonder if the bus people would have an interest in COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER?

Maybe I'll take my case to the people who matter........the people who ride buses.

Blue ones, Yellow ones, Orange ones and Special double Red ones that travel down Wilshire Blvd that are literally the size of medium size yachts.

It's amazing how many buses there are and it's also amazing how many times I see buses with very few passengers.

I've really got to give rapid transit a pat on the back.....even if I decide to never again ride on a bus.

Unless of course the Dixie Chicks invite me to ride on their bus.

At that moment, my friends.....I am on board.

MIchael Timothy McAlevey