May 2007 Bad Day to Be A 352 Bus Driver

THIS IS SAD. CURRENT AND FORMER BUS DRIVERS OF THE WORLD, FEEL FREE TO SYMPATHIZE WITH THE TWO AFFECTED IN THIS BLOG POST.

FIRST INCIDENT
NB 352: The #352 Pace bus always goes into the 95th terminal through the west end and then turns around to pick up passengers and exit through the east end of the terminal. Today, the driver entered the terminal through the west end, not dropping off passengers, but making his way to the other side of the terminal to drop them off, going at top speed of five miles per hour the whole time. You guessed it, or maybe not, almost everyone on the bus, save about five people including me, got mad and started fussing at the bus driver. His explanation was,

"I cannot go about five miles per hour in these terminals. It's in the rule book!"

Despite his explanation, people still get mad and fuss at him. One angry black woman gets his badge number so she can report him to the bus company. If I had the opportunity to do so, I would've freakin' punched her teeth out! Yes, I have much more sympathy for the bus driver than I do for a bunch of impatient, stupid fools, which is 100% sympathy to 0% sympathy.

LATER THAT DAY
SB 352. Everyone is boarding at the 95th Red Line terminal. A young boy boards before his mother does and proceeds to the back. The bus driver sees him, and when I board she asks me,

"Is that your child?"
"No, I have no kids."

The boy's mother boards about 30 seconds afterward, and then the bus driver tells her when she grabs him and brings him towards the front of the bus that if he is seven or older, she needs to pay for him. The woman angrily shouts,

"How you gon' tell me how old my child is?"

The bus driver ended the argument and went about her business.

Later on, the driver misses a passenger's stop by approximately 50 feet. I've seen this guy several times before, always looking like Farmer Brown, wearing blue denim overalls and a tan/beige shirt. Well, Farmer Brown fusses at the driver for driving fast and missing his stop by so small of an area measurement, shouting,

"What is yo' damn problem? This ain't the Express bus! Crazy bitch!"

I felt bad for the bus driver, so much that when we go to Chicago Heights Terminal, I looked over at her and said to her,

"Sorry that you had such a bad day."
"It's all right," she told me. "This happens to me often."

I'm not sure how she felt about the unnecessary incidents after going home, but the incidents made me so pissed off that I angrily said to a group of teens on my street in south suburban Lynwood who wanted to get to know me,

"Do I know you?"

The Pace #352 bus is the LONE reason behind me being so happy that I no longer live in the south suburban territory that it serves. Good riddance to all of that mess!