It was unprofessional

but understandable, and totally appreciated.

There were about 6 of us waiting in line for the bus at the Bus Station this morning. Also waiting for the bus, but thankfully not in line, was the odiferous Mr. Flip-Flops. Have I mentioned him before? He's what drove me from my usual seat, 2nd on the right, to a little further down the back of the bus, by the mere act of taking the seat (both of them) immediately in front of me.

I've named him Mr. Flip-Flops because I don't want to be as offensive as he is because he always wears Flip Flops (or thongs, as Aussies call them). Although white, Mr. Flip-Flops feet are almost black. We can see this because, as I said, he always wears Flip Flops. Every day. Without fail. Thankfully Mr. Flip-Flops always sits on a bench a short way from the line waiting for the bus, because in case I didn't mention it, to put it bluntly, Mr. Flip-Flops stinks. He stinks like someone who hasn't had a bath or shower this century, but I've seen people in downtown Los Angles who clearly haven't had baths this century, and Mr. Flip-Flops doesn't look like them. His feet do, but he doesn't, so perhaps he has a "condition" that makes him smell that bad.

A week or two ago Mr. Flip-Flops boarded our bus and sat down in what had become his usual seat, but by now I'd claimed a new, usual seat so I didn't care, until the bus driver started calling out, and gesturing back towards us. Then I realized she was gesturing at me. Me? I showed you my bus pass. It's good. I know it is because I just bought it a few days ago.

I went up to see what she wanted. She wanted me to open the window immediately behind her. The window between her and Mr. Flip-Flops. I understood immediately. Did I post about this already? I seem to remember writing this before. Maybe I just told my coworkers or Liz about it.

So today the bus pulled up and the same lady was driving, and the six of us in line boarded the bus. Quite quickly, I might add. I love commuters who, like me, buy a monthly Bus Pass. It makes boarding the bus so much faster. If you're a regular commuter it just doesn't make sense not to buy a pass. I understand that it's expensive, I pay $82 for my Pass, but I ride the bus every day. If you ride the same bus as me every day your trip will cost you either $3 each way, or $5 (return trip) if you buy a Day Pass. I don't even get why people don't buy a Day Pass. It's $3 to ride the bus one day. It's $3 for a Day Pass but you have to pay another $1 because my bus is an Express and takes the Freeway. At the end of the day you board the bus, show the driver your Day Pass and give him another dollar. You just saved $1. Do that over the month with an average of 22 working days and you save yourself $22 (huh. 22 x $1 = $22. Go figure ;) But, 22 x $5 is $110. How much did I say my Monthly Pass was? That's right. $82. That's another $30 saving, or $50 saving compared to paying your fare each way, every day. Over the course of one year that's $600. How would you like to receive $600 every year? That'd be great, wouldn't it, and yet people still pay the regular fare each way, every day, because they can't afford to spend $82 on a Monthly Pass. Of course they can't afford an $82 pass; they have absolutely no grasp of economics. It just boggles my mind that these people (not wanting to stereotype, but they appear to be lower class, minimum wage earners) throw away $600 every year when they could probably really use that money.

So everyone this morning had Bus Passes which meant we all just showed our Pass to the driver and we were on the Bus, and before I'd taken a couple of steps the driver had the door closed and was pulling away from the Station, rather quickly I might add.

The reason for our hasty departure was obvious. The driver did not want Mr. Flip-Flops riding her bus. And we could hardly blame her. The reason she was able to get away without Mr. Flip-Flops is that instead of waiting in line for the bus with the rest of the passengers (and thank God he doesn't...although he might start to, now. Crud!), Mr. Flip-Flops sits down and does a crossword or some other puzzle. So when the bus pulled up this morning he had to put away his puzzle book and gather his belongings (which this morning included a bag of white plastic shopping bags. He had a plastic shopping bag stuffed full to overflowing with plastic shopping bags), and before he could do this, all 6 of us who were waiting in line had boarded and the driver wasted no time in getting the hell out of Dodge. I think she did this yesterday, too. I didn't see Mr. Flip-Flops but she was certainly quick to pull away from the Station as if he was coming.

Very unprofessional, to leave a passenger at the Station when you have nowhere near a full bus, but given the odor of the passenger left behind it was a perfectly understandable action, and very much appreciated by the rest of the passengers.