Long Day's Journey Into Plight. Stephen Dare Wrassles the Transit System.

[stephendare]

I waited for Glenda.

As she answered again, he was yelling maniacally in the background.

"I don't know who YOU are!? I don't know who YOU are!?"  he was going on, "Well YOU don't know who I am!"

"Hello, Glenda, this is me again."

"Is that the driver still?"   she asked incredulously.

"Sure is."  By now he had started calling me a liar.

"Can you hold on, I'm going to get my supervisor"

There was a series of clicks and beeps and of course the ranting and raving of the by now, thoroughly exercised bus driver.

"Oh yes!  Oh yes!  Wait till you learn MY name!  Then you will recognize."

Was he Blaylock's son? I wondered?

I checked his badge.  It was 1995, and he wasnt wearing his name tag.

As though reading my mind, customer service asked the bus number and his name.  I told her and added that my cell phone was dying.

Glenda asked my phone number to call back and I gave it to her.

At that moment, the line went dead again.  I cursed the connection.

"AhA!"  the driver said triumphantly.  "Now we'll see!"  He added leeringly.

"Don't you think this is a little too much drama over one customer riding the bus?"  I asked him, genuinely curious to know.

His radio made an insistent noise.  Deciding to fry my hash later, he picked up the line.

His voice got low and then I heard him demanding a supervisor to drive out.  He pronounced every syllable of the word with malevolence:  Su.  Per.  Vize.  Er.  He repeated the word several times.

I surmised that he was afraid that they hadn't understood him the first few times.

My cell phone rang.  He jumped up.

"This is probably Ms. Brooks now."  I informed him hoping it would have a chilling effect.

It didnt.

He didn't care WHAT Ms. Brooks had to say.  He didn't Care WHO I was talking to.  He said "I Don't Care WHO youre talking to!  I'll tell her to her FACE.  I DON'T care!"

"Is that the bus driver?"  asked Ms. Brooks.

I sighed with relief.  Maybe I wasn't destined to die like a dog on the side of a highway today after all.  On the westside no less.  As readers of this blog know, Ms. Brooks is the Director of Customer Service.  I was saved.

Even so, this nonsense went on for the next thirty minutes.   We left the side of the road and he drove to FCCJ Cecil Campus.   Scowling horribly at me he stormed off and disappeared on campus.

Time passed.

More time passed.

The car belonging to the JTA supervisor wheeled into the parking lot.

There was discussion between the bus driver (whose name I didnt manage to get) and the supervisor.

A call came in on the last gasp of my cell phone's charge.

It was a gracious apology on behalf of the JTA and a guarantee of transit back downtown.

We rode together on in silence.

Finally at 8:00 or so, having left the Equestrian Center at 4:25 I arrived downtown, caught the bus to Springfield without incident and joined the public meeting of Metrojacksonville.com at HOLA.

Which by the way, was one hell of an experience.

[Ocklawaha]

and joined the public meeting of Metrojacksonville.com at HOLA.

Which by the way, was one hell of an experience.

Be careful Stephen, those meetings at Metrojacksonville can be downright dangerous! ROFLMAO!

OCKLAWAHA

[BridgeTroll]

I can assume you will not be visiting the westside anytime soon?

[pwhitford]

Not to keep throwing pennies at a dead horse, but I must raise my voice here.  I am absolutely flabbergasted at all the stories of "penny-throwing" and "soft drink showers" for pedestrians and cyclers who are peaceably trying to share the roads with the vehicles.  This is insanity!  What possible motivation is there for doing this?  Is this some sort of twisted local custom ... a sport ... or just some vicious time killer for mouth-breathers?  I mean really, I come from one of the most inhospitable points on this crowded planet (NYC), where hostility is a birthright and aggressive behavior is an accepted form of communication, but this kind of sh*t would just never be done!! It is abhorrent to me and everyone I know.  What kind of ignorant, knuckle dragging, empty headed low life would do this and why?  Does it make them feel superior?  Is it somehow sexually gratifying?  Fear? Envy?  What?  Please, somebody, help me understand this.

Oh, and by the way, Stephen, this is great stuff.  Please keep it up.

[uptowngirl]

Oh, and by the way, Stephen, this is great stuff.  Please keep it up.

I concur, but not sure if my body can take it I am wracked with pain from all the laughing, it is almost unreal!!!!

[stephendare]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

I spent all day yesterday on an Amtrak Train, on my way to Boca.   What an experience. I have never taken a train through Florida before, and its as different an experience as Jacksonville is when seen by boat rather than car.

There are two buses that go to Amtrak, K-2 and M-40 (although the K-2 is by far the better route)

I was able to get from springfield to the train station in about 45 minutes between the two buses, and they run fairly regularly all day.

One thing Im not able to figure out, and perhaps Ocklawaha knows.  In every other city that Amtrak went through, the train runs right through the middle of town and lets off on some fairly beautiful simple platforms.

Why is our Amtrak station so far away from the city?  The route south took us right through the railyards downtown.

[Ocklawaha]

Can we expect an equally fair side-by-side of your Amtrak Journey through Florida. Perhaps a nice mirror for the JTA experiences?

The Stations "WERE" all still standing when Amtrak took over, but at the time they didn't (and still don't in most cases) have title to the land. So the railroads, being so friendly to passenger rail back in the day, simply tore many of them down, or the communities ("PALATKA" is a prime example) rallyed to get themselves back in the game. In Palatka's case they had a horrible tumble down statiion and were left completely off the system. Trains blew right through town. They bought the property, installed a historical preservation group, rebuilt the depot and grounds, installed a small museum, allowed a model railroad club to have a room, and lobbied and got "Experimental Stop" status. Within a couple of years, Experimental Stop, became one of the better stops in Florida. A great lesson for Auburndale/Haines City, Green Cove Springs (depots gone).

OCKLAWAHA

[ProjectMaximus]

I've heard of similar stories out in LA. Some people are just nasty and look down on pedestrians who, in such car-dependent locales, are generally of less means than they. At least there is a degree of self-sacrifice for the motorist in sharing the road with a cyclist (albeit still very unjust for motorists to run bicycles off the road) so I agree, these stories about pedestrians are ridiculous.

Not to keep throwing pennies at a dead horse, but I must raise my voice here.  I am absolutely flabbergasted at all the stories of "penny-throwing" and "soft drink showers" for pedestrians and cyclers who are peaceably trying to share the roads with the vehicles.  This is insanity!  What possible motivation is there for doing this?  Is this some sort of twisted local custom ... a sport ... or just some vicious time killer for mouth-breathers?  I mean really, I come from one of the most inhospitable points on this crowded planet (NYC), where hostility is a birthright and aggressive behavior is an accepted form of communication, but this kind of sh*t would just never be done!! It is abhorrent to me and everyone I know.  What kind of ignorant, knuckle dragging, empty headed low life would do this and why?  Does it make them feel superior?  Is it somehow sexually gratifying?  Fear? Envy?  What?  Please, somebody, help me understand this.

[stephendare]

Not to keep throwing pennies at a dead horse, but I must raise my voice here.  I am absolutely flabbergasted at all the stories of "penny-throwing" and "soft drink showers" for pedestrians and cyclers who are peaceably trying to share the roads with the vehicles.  This is insanity!  What possible motivation is there for doing this?  Is this some sort of twisted local custom ... a sport ... or just some vicious time killer for mouth-breathers?  I mean really, I come from one of the most inhospitable points on this crowded planet (NYC), where hostility is a birthright and aggressive behavior is an accepted form of communication, but this kind of sh*t would just never be done!! It is abhorrent to me and everyone I know.  What kind of ignorant, knuckle dragging, empty headed low life would do this and why?  Does it make them feel superior?  Is it somehow sexually gratifying?  Fear? Envy?  What?  Please, somebody, help me understand this.

Oh, and by the way, Stephen, this is great stuff.  Please keep it up.

Vicious time killer for mouth breathers is my guess.

As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that it is the answer.

I would have said that it made the white trash feel better about things, but some of the items were thrown from very nice cars, and not everyone who tossed something was white.

Its going to take a few cops patrolling the streets to put an end to this bullshit.

There is absolutely no reason that we should wait until there is a serious or fatal injury to stop this practice.

[Ocklawaha]

So friend Stephen, are you ready to open a new thread and give us the skinny on Amtrak? (I already think I know the answer...hee hee) but just wanted the masses to be able to get a grip on what it would be like to ride to Palatka, Green Cove, Orange Park, St. Augustine by train rather then say, JTA, or the big MCI "express" motorcoaches, or Greyhound, or even Piper Cub or Fokker. Strike while the iron is hot!

BTW, could you include a "food experience" on train vs bus depot or airplane?

PLEASE don't take this wrong guys, I'm not being my usual Smart A-- here, we have a very talented blogger that just made a fairly long train trip after weeks of riding various other modes, let's hear how they stack up!

OCKLAWAHA

[stephendare]

The Amtrak experience?

Are you kidding?  There is literally no comparison.

[Ernest Street]

  I am absolutely flabbergasted at all the stories of "penny-throwing" and "soft drink showers" for pedestrians and cyclers who are peaceably trying to share the roads with the vehicles.  This is insanity!  What possible motivation is there for doing this?  Is this some sort of twisted local custom ... a sport ... or just some vicious time killer for mouth-breathers?  What kind of ignorant, knuckle dragging, empty headed low life would do this and why?  Does it make them feel superior?  Is it somehow sexually gratifying?  Fear? Envy?  What?  Please, somebody, help me understand this.

PW, There are some really good folks that own property out on the westside, but unfortunately the Inbred, Oxycontin, zanax,Meth,+Alcohol Rowdies that havent been caught yet are still cruising around. They wouldn't last 2 weeks around the DUI predator Cops in Riverside... 

[urbanlibertarian]

Vicious time killer for mouth breathers is my guess.

As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that it is the answer.

I would have said that it made the white trash feel better about things, but some of the items were thrown from very nice cars, and not everyone who tossed something was white.

Its going to take a few cops patrolling the streets to put an end to this bullshit.

There is absolutely no reason that we should wait until there is a serious or fatal injury to stop this practice.

Maybe a hidden camera and some exposure on the evening news would make a difference.

[stephendare]

theres an idea, urban libertarian.
id be glad to volunteer again, as i made such a great target the first time.

[BridgeTroll]

I REALLY want to see those deer on hidden camera...possibly Stephen running in terror....