What are your favorite brands and why?
My favorite brands and why
My favorite brands are those in which it makes me think of fun laughter home and safety in a world, of a six year old.
Campbell’s tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich
Nestlé‘s chocolate milk
Peanut butter and red raspberry preserve sandwich
Fresh fruit from a tree
Freshly squeezed Florida orange juice
Toll house chocolate chip cookies
Riding a Schwinn bicycle without a care in the world.
You would think that with a CDL you would know better . One of the things they teach you is to look for and recognize signs.
The route I do on Monday and Wednesdays has a tiny little roundabout and going into it. There is a sign that says no trucks yet 18 wheelers persist on trying to get through. The City Bus I Drive just makes it through.
So it makes me wonder how these people men and women go from City to City if they can’t read the sign that says no trucks ?
Share one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.
The best gift I ever received was when I was dealing with cancer. I was living in Kentucky on my own no family around . My coworkers all got together and provided me the best Christmas I’ve ever had.
Write about your first computer.
My first computer.
I built my first computer. You needed to know DOS. In order to operate the computer it wasn’t a particular brand, but it did lean towards what would be called windows I don’t even think Mac had been invented yet or at least perfected. 
What’s your favorite thing to cook?
My favorite thing to cook.
My favorite thing to cook is a particular meal I enjoy a lightly Italian season breaded turkey cutlet with a salad and a vegetable . It’s actually a very quick meal to make.
The Unexpected Ride: A City Bus Driver’s Tale of Patience and Humor
Driving a city bus is more than just following a route and keeping to a schedule. It’s about navigating through a world filled with diverse people, each with their own story, attitude, and way of dealing with life’s challenges. It’s a job that tests your patience, empathy, and ability to keep a cool head—especially in the aftermath of Covid when the streets can feel a little more chaotic than usual.
One of our newest drivers, who’s had a CDL for years but just started working on the bus, recently had an incident that perfectly encapsulates what it’s like to drive a city bus. In training, we’re taught to stick to the schedule—if passengers aren’t at the stop, you leave. There’s simply no time to wait. But sometimes, passengers don’t exactly follow the rules.
A few days ago, a young woman waiting at a stop was on a mission—not just to catch the bus, but to wait for her boyfriend, who had sent her ahead to catch it. She told the driver, in no uncertain terms, that he would have to wait for her boyfriend to show up. When the driver opened the door and she stepped on, she made it clear that she wasn’t getting off until her boyfriend was on board, too.
Now, city buses are equipped with accordion-style doors, so she managed to step just far enough in to prevent the driver from closing them. But despite the heated exchange of words—filled with cursing and threats—he calmly told her that he wasn’t going to wait. He had a route to follow, and the schedule had to be kept.
Here’s the twist: The boyfriend she was waiting for was nowhere in sight. The driver kept an eye out for him, hoping to see someone running toward the bus, but there was no sign of him.
At this point, the driver, who is known for his laid-back attitude and sense of humor, continued on his route. The woman, realizing that the bus wasn’t stopping, started yelling even louder, demanding to be let off. By then, they had already passed two stops. True to his training—and his nature—the driver pulled over and let her off.
As she stormed off, the bus driver watched her take off running back toward the direction they’d just come from. It was a moment that left everyone on the bus chuckling, even though it could have easily turned into something more stressful.
In this line of work, humor is often the best defense against frustration. There are always passengers who try to push your buttons, but a smile and a laugh can help defuse the situation. Most bus drivers, despite the challenges, are compassionate people. We deal with a range of emotions, from kindness to hostility, and it’s our job to keep that compassion intact, no matter how trying the day might get.
Because, in the end, if you hold a grudge, you won’t last long in this job. There’s always another stop to reach, another passenger to help, and another moment to laugh off.
Feel free to tweak or adjust anything you’d like! If you’d like to add a personal touch or further expand on any part, let me know!
Every Sunday afternoon, I undertake the peculiar ritual of wrapping up two bus routes, ensuring everything is ready for the starting drivers. My routine comprises of these two distinct routes: 21 and 11. It’s a rhythm that, over time, has grown both comfortable and entertaining in its simplicity. The first leg of my journey, Route 21, marks the beginning of the weekend’s winding down, serving not just as a transition for the next driver but also as a moment where mundane tasks can morph into unexpected shenanigans.
Arriving at 10 minutes to the hour, I settle into my role. However, I don’t actually depart until a quarter past the hour. This seemingly straightforward timing can sometimes lead to confusion, as I discovered on one particular Sunday. As I stepped out to take a well-deserved break, a young lady approached the bus door with her family. Perhaps it was the sunshine illuminating her face or the enthusiasm of the day that sparked her curiosity, but her confusion about my timing reminded me of a classic comedy skit.
With a smile, I explained, “I don’t leave until a quarter after the hour.” The words hung in the air for a moment. Did I just offer her a riddle wrapped in a bus route schedule? She tilted her head, the look of genuine bewilderment etched across her face. “After what hour?” she inquired, as if unraveling the complexities of life itself.
“Any hour,” I replied, the simplicity of the response almost comedic. It felt for a moment as though I had stepped into an Abbott and Costello routine—a comedic exchange where clarity evades comprehension. The notion that time is absolute, yet so easily misunderstood, became the punchline to our strangely humorous dialogue.
This humorous moment revealed more than just timing; it illuminated a common human experience—the miscommunication that occurs in everyday life. Much like the classic routines of yesteryear, where simple platitudes spiraled into convoluted exchanges, this interaction held within it the whimsical nature of human understanding.
In a world where schedules rule our lives, it’s easy to forget that not everyone shares the same perspective or familiarity with our routines. The young lady’s confusion served as a reminder that clarity is subjective, often depending on one’s own experiences and context. In turn, it encouraged a fleeting moment of connection; an opportunity for laughter amidst the duties of daily life.
Ultimately, as I returned to my bus to resume the route, I smiled, realizing that even in the most routine of tasks, humor often finds a way to seep in. Each Sunday, while I prepare for the next driver, I am reminded that every interaction, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, holds the potential for a moment of joy and understanding—a small reminder that life, like public transport, is full of unpredictable stops along the way.
You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
I take cars. I have taken cars when I had the leisure Time to enjoy the scenery along the way. I only take airplanes when I’m in a hurry, usually that means I’m going to a funeral.
For quite some time I’ve been on the fence ,what to do about my job. I don’t really like. It was a job . It was paying the bills and that’s about it.
It wasn’t a hard job. I was driving a motorcoach, picking up people and taking them to Tesla. Then in the afternoon picking up one of my groups and take them home and be done. I likened the job to an over glorified school bus driver split shift and all.. it was easy but stressful traveling interstate 80 4 times a day. No matter if it was sunny, warm cold, snowy, rainy, we did. It .
I won’t name the company no point. When you drive a big vehicle like that, you need a commercial drivers license, at least B with passenger endorsement and air brakes now if you have an A license with the aforementioned endorsements. You also can drive one of these. With your B license this is the top of your weight class that you can drive.
I was lucky enough to have a Monday through Friday schedule while I only cleared a little over 37 hours a week. My supervisor made sure that I would get 40. I’m thankful for that but the quality of life work balance isn’t there I was always getting called and asked if I would work the weekends, and sometimes I would and I might go two weeks before I would get a Saturday or a Sunday let alone a weekend off. There was a time with what I earned per hour was a lot of money, even if it you were doing a split shift, but in these economic times it isn’t. For a change school bus drivers are making more.
The problems of finding drivers with an A or B license starts with what they make per hour then you add the kind of shift that it is, and for some people that’s enough. But for me, and I think I’m speak for others, the corporate culture is another component.
In many of my experiences. They never seem to get all three together. It seems to be a struggle for the companies to do that.. well, you may have contracts that make you money in order to fulfill them. You need the drivers to do it. If the drivers aren’t happy, then there’s a problem. The general work gets done but there’s a fine for the work, not being done exactly as the contract says. And the driver doesn’t really care. The people got picked up the people that home he pulls the bus and in parks day is over.. when a company doesn’t care about the drivers equal laterally, across-the-board discontents sets in.
Have some drivers seem to be more privileged than others. They’re not doing the same work any differently than the other guy though. The new driver gets discouraged and sees that there is no upward mobility no advancement available. The new driver may last six months some less the company doesn’t get it..
Instead of trying to change some thing, because the corporate culture won’t allow it and it’s a battle I’d rather not fight I put my two week notice in. I have one week left what brought me to this decision was a post I read called. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES, a Blog by fabfourblog
I found myself identifying with it in my case it was that I was letting other people dictate the outcome of my life and that I needed to take that step and take control of it sink or swim. I also am a photographer, and so the whole concept struck home with me. But still it wasn’t an overnight decision.. change is scary. So this coming Monday I start the countdown five days the relief has already sat in.
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Small towns will surprise you with things to photograph. Abilene is a community of roughly 125,000. On the surface, their doest seem to be much. You see Abilene is a quirky little community, the migration path provides a varied selection of birds to photograph. Birds I didn’t think I would have the chance to personally see let alone photograph. Cranes, Egrets, and Herons are my favorites. But that’s just Birds.
In moving back to Abilene Texas I made the decision to involve myself in the community. I re-joined the VFW and I’m a lifetime member now. I’ve also become a Texas Master Naturalist (Hill Country Chapter).I attended a 5 month class through the Texas A&M University and The County Extension Office. The class was taught by individuals who had master degrees in things like astronomy entomology, soil and geology citizen science & interpretation. Just to name a few subjects covered. The text book along was 5 pounds.
I have found may things to take photos of from birds to buildings to cars. I enjoy it immensely it gets me out of the house and into the great out doors. So as this blog progresses Ill post pics and a something about it
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Raven's Space 