Wednesday 11 February 2009

When 'Tom' is the Chauffeur

I suppose I am very easily amused but riding Transit Tom has provided me endless entertainment.

I am amazed at the people who will get on and ride only for a couple of blocks. Admittedly, with all this ice I have been taking the bus for shorter distance than normal, but I usually don't have the patience to wait for the bus when I could walk there in five or ten minutes.

There is an elderly fellow who arrives at Confusion Corner early in the morning on the Grant bus and then gets off after riding a block on the Corydon bus. I can't help but wonder where he has been and where he is going so early. Is he coming back from an assignation with a lady friend? Has he been at an all night gambling den? The possibilities are endless.

One of the 'two-block' people wears the same clothes. Everyday. I wonder if he just wears them to get to-and-fro' and changes into some uniform when he arrives at work?

Then there are the different driver styles. The driver who usually pilots the bus I take to University on Tuesdays and Thursdays drives at a sedate pace so he is always properly hitting his timing points. Yesterday, there was a different fellow. First of all, he was wearing shorts (some people do crave summer!). We sat at the corner of Pembina and Stafford for at least five minutes, no doubt impressing those people waiting behind us, while I suppose an appropriate amount of time had passed. Then we were off, zooming down Pembina, careening around the corners and sending huge sprays of water onto the sidewalk.

All these people with their ears plugged with earbuds? Are they really listening to something (the answer is yes in some cases since I can hear their musical selections plainly) or is just a way to distance themselves from others who may want to make casual conversation?

Who needs TV? This is way more fun.

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