The Meanest Bastard
I hopped on the bus on the east side of St. Paul, heading home from a Metro State night-class at around 9:30 pm. immediately as I paid my fare I noticed a weird and definitely bad vibe. The driver, an older white guy looked seriously pissed, and I soon learned why. A drunk (and/or cracked-out) dude was sitting up near him and obviously had been pushing the driver’s buttons. Continue reading ‘The Meanest Bastard’
Justice on the Bus
“I’ve got your back.” Not words I am used to hearing, not in real life, certainly not directed at me. Until yesterday on my way home from work, I’ve never had occasion to feel emboldened by these words. It felt great. For the first time ever I could detect a hint of the security one feels in the loyalty of families, friends, or gangs, whatever the case may be, when you know that if someone messes with you, they’re going to pay. Continue reading ‘Justice on the Bus’
No thumbs at all
About 10 years ago, I was riding the 4 southbound from downtown on a summer day at rush hour, the bus was about 3/4 full. At Franklin and Lyndale, a tall, slim African-American man in his late 40s or early 50s got on. He sat down in the sideways-facing seat directly behind the driver. There was already another man sitting there, in the third seat, furthest from the driver. Continue reading ‘No thumbs at all’
Nothing in the job description
I was driving a 94 line, starting at 4th & Mn. A man rode his bike to a bus laying over, I was across the street. He see’s me, asks what bus it is, I tell him 94 & it will pick up at shelter in 10 minutes. He then gets mad and starts arguing with me. I didn’t want any trouble so I told him to put his bike on, get on bus, whatever he wanted to do. Continue reading ‘Nothing in the job description’
