#6159

Another day on the 81N. Instead of doing the crack-of-dawn patrol, I decided to linger a bit and catch the 6:42 bus. An enlightening experience, this could be my bus of choice for awhile.

The driver, a woman, greeted me cordially. A number of riders already occupied seats and I settled in, across from the back door, ready to observe. A man in a hat and a woman in the seat behind him engaged in conversation. As we drove north on McClintock, past Southern, the driver hit the horn and pulled over to the curb. She opened the door and a few seconds later, a man walked up and got on the bus. He exchanged greetings with the driver and sat across from the man in the hat who asked why the guy was late. Apparently these people are quite regular and know each other well. The best part was the driver - she recognized a regular passenger and made a courtesy stop to pick him up. What great customer service, and she did the same thing a short time later when she stopped and waited for another young man running to catch the bus. The kindness and civility she displayed made a great start to the day. I'll try to make this time regularly to see the real players on this bus.

I took today's photo this morning to apologize to the Trader Joe's employees who I maligned in yesterday's blog. As you can see, the TJ cart was replaced by one from Walgreen's. I don't take store carts from their homes, so I don't really know how or why these transfers and swaps occur. I will, however, no longer hold store employees accountable for errant carts. I think tracking these trolleys off-site goes beyond the scope of their job duties. Not sure I want to hang around the bus stop and see where they come from, either. Just another mystery of life.