The Smells on the Bus Go Round and Round

You knew it would eventually come up on Bussted. You could probably say its long overdue. 

Its the subject of foul odour when riding the bus. Most times the ride is fine. Just normal, everyday scents. But when certain people get on, that changes really quickly.

I'm lucky enough to work flexible hours at my job, but taking a bus after 9 a.m. comes with a price. 

Just before the bridge to downtown, there's a guy that gets on the bus who carries an almost indescribable odour. And he seems to always sit 1 or 2 seats away from me.

Imagine going for a 10k run in 30+ degrees weather in a turtleneck (no deodorant allowed!). When you finally finish, you douse yourself in chicken stock. Then you empty your spice rack onto the ground and roll around in all of the spices. That would be the best way I could describe this smell  If I didn't know better, I would guess that would be his daily routine.

To add to this, he's got a friend, who looks like he could possibly be his brother. Sometimes they get on the bus together, other times a stop apart. They both have the same odour, so it's a double dose of stank. I call these guys "the Stank Brothers".

The Stank Brothers don't look dirty. They're well kept guys, maybe just wearing track jackets, jeans, and clean white sneakers. You could be deceived by their appearance. But man, that smell!

And what is it with people leaving their house smelling like food? Good food scents usually don't translate into good body scents. I mean, steak and eggs in the morning smells great when its cooked, but that smell should not be on your skin. A shower or a quick wash up is nothing to be afraid of.

I need to get back to taking the early bus.

Birds of a Feather ...

Maybe I'm old school. It's no secret that I'm a fan of (good) hip hop music, but I just can't get down with some of the styles I see today. On the ride in the morning, I see this kid get on and sit down, wearing a black jacket with random shiny gold symbols all over it.

I think more of the new school hip hop gear is like that, but I could never personally rock that type of clothing, it's just not for me, but that's their personal choice, and they're confident enough to wear it. I mean, wouldn't their friends probably wear the same type of gear?

The answer to this question in this train of thought came soon enough.

A few stops later, another kid gets on the bus wearing an even more interesting jacket. This one had black, brown, and white squares, each featuring a different headline about the death of Tupac. I'll admit I don't mind a few Tupac songs. I was more of a Biggie fan, but I again, wouldn't want little pictures of Biggie with different news headlines all over my jacket.

The guy walks down the aisle and recognizes the shiny jacket guy, they chat for a bit and continue the ride. Enough writing though. You all know the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Holiday Blues?

Back from hiatus, bussted is here again for 2011. I plan on playing with the layout a bit, so I hope you don't mind.

One thing I really noticed recently is that people really don't like going to work after holidays. No newsflash, I know, but it is so obvious on that first bus ride after the holiday.

When I get on in the morning, there are just a few people, but it fills up pretty quick. On a normal day, there are conversations, music, etc... After a holiday, it would be hard to tell the difference between a bus full of death row inmates and a transit bus full of people on their way to work a 9 to 5. I mean it's silent. Eerily silent, such that the only sounds you hear are the humming of the bus engine, a few sniffles, and of course the occasional sigh. I've witnessed this a few times now; it takes about a day for things to get back to normal. It makes me wonder what's on people's minds. Were the holidays fun? Did things go horribly wrong? Did someone's aunt have a bit too much and go on a rant that was beyond embarrasing? My guess is the answer is yes for all of them. The bus ride will return to normal, with interesting sights and conversations. Until the next long weekend ...

Look Both Ways ...

Today, I noticed the bus slowing down to almost a stop, but we were nowhere near a bus stop. People started pointing, and I looked over to my left, where I saw a man lying on the street at the crosswalk, on his back in front of a GMC Acadia , and a woman with a cellphone standing over him. His hat was about 20 feet away. He slowly moved to a sitting position and started yelling at the woman and pointing up at the crosswalk lights. By this time, other drivers were getting out of their vehicles to help.

Now, I just missed the hit by a few minutes, so I can't say what really happened or whose fault it was. One piece of advice I can give to pedestrians is the same as what your Mom told you growing up. Look both ways before you cross the street. You need to be a smart pedestrian. Too many people think the crosswalk button activates the brakes on all vehicles in a 20 foot radius, so they hit the button and don't even break their stride or look before they step off the sidewalk. I've seen a lot of pedestrians almost get hit this way, and a lot give drivers the evil eye after they've slammed the brakes to avoid hitting them. I almost hit a guy on a bike the other day because he flew across the intersection - and he was riding on the wrong side of the street. I know you have the right of way as pedestrians, just keep this in mind - a car is usually a thousand pounds plus of steel and glass going faster than you can run, and they're driven by regular people like you and me who sometimes make mistakes or who are distracted. There's a good chance that you could be hit anytime that you're crossing any street, so you have to be smart about it and follow Mom's advice.

Here's a related clip for a good laugh. If you've seen the original, I think this one is even better with this music ...

Inception Ice Cream Truck Out of Nowhere - watch more funny videos

!!! WARNING !!!

I'm behind on the blog again, and this one comes with a warning. Not for those with a weak stomach. If you're looking forward to lunch in a few minutes, don't read this now. If you just had breakfast, don't - well you get the idea. My friend in Dubai heard a story relayed by a Winnipeg Transit driver. People reveal waaaay to much to drivers sometimes. Here it is: 

"Was stuck in traffic with some dirty pig telling me about how he got fecal matter in a cut on his testicles and needs surgery because of the infection.. Which is why he has a hard time climbing the stairs on the bus!! What do you even say to that?"

Ugghh. Told you.

Aging Gracefully

Old people have a choice. They can either accept their age or be crabby about it. I hope when I get there I'm not a crabby one. A group of seniors was on the bus one morning and they were all smiles. One of them stood up to get up, and one of her girlfriends didn't even hesitate for a minute as she said, "Stay out of trouble Gladys!". then reached over and smacked Gladys' bum before she got off the bus. The other ladies were having a good laugh at that.

At the next stop, an old man with a cane got on. He walked to the middle of the bus and put one leg across the 3 seat bench, and the other on the floor as he held his cane. Didn't care who was watching, he was taking ALL 3 seats, because that's just what he felt like. Now that's what I call aging gracefully.

Thinking Outside the Box

Rode the bus a while back and there was a group of daycare kids, must have been at least 10 of them on the bus with 2 daycare workers. As we passed over the bridge crossing the Red River on the way downtown, one of the workers said to the kids jokingly, "Who wants to go swimming in there instead of the pool?".

If you live in Winnipeg, you know that the Red River is not exactly the cleanest river around. It could actually be called the Brown River if it the name was based on what it looks like. There was of course a lot of noise and a chorus of "Eeew"s and "No way!", and "Yuck!" when the question was asked. Of course there had to be one kid who shouted over everyone, "I do! I do!"

Now that is one kid who really loves swimming. Maybe the next Michael Phelps.