#6419

What a weird bus week! Mark's last ride took place Tuesday morning. Dave's last ride happened on Wednesday morning. Thursday morning, I got on the bus and -- surprise, surprise -- Bill AKA Newspaper Guy was in situ behind the paper! He rode the bus just to say hey and congrats to Mark and Dave! Great to see him and sorry he missed the dynamic duo. We had a great chat anyway - he appears quite content as a retiree - makes me look forward to my turn.

This morning I decided to try out the 81N. I already use 81S to come home and figured I might like the morning version. It runs every 15 minutes, so arrival time at the stop becomes relatively unimportant. Hate to "just" miss it, standing watching it go on down the road; but, 15 minutes goes by quickly. The stop for 81N is next to a gas/convenience store and quite messy. Have to go on a cleaning campaign if I continue to ride this route. The best surprise - the driver! He wished me a good morning when I boarded and commented on the greatness of being Friday. He greeted everyone who boarded and offered a farewell to everyone who got off. A couple of times he said, "thanks for riding." What a pleasant change from the surly sourpuss currently driving the 6am66. Think I'll do the 81N for awhile - I anticipate some interesting stories in the future.

Today's image is a salute to Mark and Dave - well done!