The Bus Bench

Metro's Cunning Stunt Canned for February

For February's little PR cyber stunt, Pam O'Connor has elected to "go Metro" and give her one-hour session a miss. Those hoping to get on board are advised to instead sit home and watch as what promises to be far more savvy (yet no less empty) answers to only the happiest straphangers' queries get posted. I sent a question, and I am looking forward to seeing if it or the 90/91 will arrive first. Don't wait up, folks.

In the Metro release announcing the absence, "Pam from Santa Monica!" is stated to not be available "due to a busy travel schedule." One wonders if Pam is enjoying junkets to real cities where the public transit actually works, or is doing like the rest of us and trying to get to work on time using the conveyances she so exuberantly advocates. If the latter reason, I am sure we all understand why she cannot make it to work on time after having canceled the January chat within three hours of its scheduled time and canceling the February "discussion" well in advance.

Perhaps Pam is preening to be the next Miss Traffic.

If Only Broken Benches Could Be Repaired So Rapidly

During one of my early morning walks this week—Wednesday, to be precise—I discovered a bent-over parking metre. I took a few photos, then wandered on eastward.

This morning—Friday—I was out and about round 7:45 a.m. when lo and behold! A street services guy is fixing the thing. He had a rather large set or forceps apparently engineered for rectifying the results of a parking metre colliding with a motor vehicle.

How is it this municipal agency can be so quick to repair parking metres when bus benches are left unmoored for months?

Money. Failing to repair parking metres will prevent the ability to cite scofflaws massive amounts of money for dearth of pocket change, whereas fixing the other offers zero return.

White Devil tries to take the bus. Downtown LA

Ok. BusTard who I sometimes refer to affectionately as “Scary Monster” in reality is not scary at all (ok, not very scary,) but he’s 6’3, bald, and not a hippie.

On the bus sometimes thing happen to him owing to the fact that he’s a 6’3, bald, white guy, who’s not a hippie.

It kind of shocks me sometimes where some people will go with him and I mean in regards to just calling him a racist for no reason at all.  I mean just for being and that’s just so fucking far from the truth. He is occasionally a sexist bastard, but he’s ok if you call him on that and he is making an effort on that front.

I sometimes take him to vegan hippie type stuff and even other white people grill him on his racial tolerance, “So have you ever attended a Klan meeting?” hippie white person.

What the fuck man?!!!

You don’t to be a granola freak in order to not be prejudice.

One day on his way to my place, this happened and I know, because at the time he was on the phone with me while waiting for the bus around Broadway and 5th.

“So Browne, what annoying thing can we do today?” BusTard.
“I don’t know, I was thinking about toilet papering the Metro building, but I don’t want to get arrested, so…”Browne

In mid conversation I hear this woman.

“You white mother fucker,” crazy woman.

So I ask BusTard, “What’s going on?”

And he’s like, “I don’t know this woman she is just yelling at me?”

I hear some more comments about BusTard and his whiteness.

“Who the fuck is that? What is she? Is she black? What’s going on?” Browne

“Yes,” BusTard.

“Do you know her? Is she an ex-girlfriend or something? Why the hell is she yelling at you?” Browne.

Because she’s crazy.

Then I hear BusTard say, “Get away from me.”

Bustard then tells me how she has an umbrella and is acting like she is going to hit him.

I tell him, walk away. And he yells, “I am walking away, she keeps following me.”

So then I say, “Run, dumbass.”

Not that I thought BusTard couldn’t take her, but big bald white guy beats a black woman, how that going to play out? BusTard isn’t exactly mainstream looking, though he tries, if the press got a hold of something like that, well he would forever be painted as the racist person who beat the crap out of defensive black woman.

Sometimes you get caught in these situations where you just have to go, “Fuck it, I need to lose in order to win.”

Yeah, luckily the bus comes…but you know what if it hadn’t come. What can white guy do if  woman of color decides to attack? Though I doubt this is a common problem.

But I wonder, you know if she had beat him with an umbrella for being the white devil?

Would that have been a hate crime?

I mean even if he is legitimately the white devil; I’m still thinking unprovoked attacks can’t be ok.

I wonder if she was trying to set up BusTard in some odd political game…who knows, but sometimes being the only white guy taking public transport can be interesting.

I still love you BusTard, even if you are the white devil.

Grosses bises,

Browne

Dead Escalator Report 17: 03 February 2008

For the time being there are not many dead escalators in the area I have been watching, which is MacArthur to Union Station. There was one at Vermont-Wilshire, however, along with the confused lift that states "UP" when it goes down and "UP" when it goes up.

-BusTard

 

 

UP lift goes DOWN: an addendum to the Daily Dead Escalator Report

'Nuff Said

 

-BusTard

So long, and thanks for all the fishwrap.

The Bus Bench has de-linked the L.A. Times. Here is why.

OK, so New York is not always better. . .

When The Washington Post elects to get droll, it does so in a way that makes me want to endure the cold of this time over there that I may wander out to get a copy. (If there is a newsagent in Los Angeles that has something other than a photocopy of the previous day's edition, I would damn well like to know where it is!)

Looking for corroboration of this rumour. . .

The superior court of Los Angeles is closed on Monday, the Class 6 is open (hooray for scotch!) and I have a great book about Art Deco book bindery I desire to sift, so I have every excuse to put off until Tuesday this question: is the MTA being sued?

I have this info for more info:

"Southern California's largest mass transit system filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit Friday against several contractors involved in the design and construction of a light rail line, claiming they failed to meet their contractual obligations by doing substandard work.

"In the lawsuit filed in Superior Court, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority alleged the $300 million Pasadena Gold Line and its supporting facilities were 'not free of defects ... the materials and equipment were not and are not of good quality; and the work did not and does not meet all the requirements of the contract.' The lawsuit seeks at least $25 million in damages and a court order requiring the contractors to fix the problems.

"Some of the flaws include deficient and inadequate storm water control and drainage, damaged and deteriorating materials, malfunctioning systems and 'dangerous, unsafe and hazardous conditions,' the lawsuit claimed without elaborating. The lawsuit's claims include breach of contract and negligence. The suit names contractors Kiewit, Washington Infrastructure Services, Inc., Parsons Corp., among others, as defendants."

Anyone?

-BusTard

The Dead Escalator Report is back, damn it. . .

Having learned that the MTA may well have done some escalator repair to make sure our beloved Mayor Tony V did not have to walk down the few steps from the street to the Purple Line, we here at the Bus Bench have tooled up to document the inevitable demise of the escaltors' service.

Here are two dead escalators that "happened" to occur right after lazy mayor tony v stepped down at Western/Wilshire last week:

 

 

http://www.angrythoreauan.com/Ode2Tony.htm

Tony, we will see you next week, providing you see to a second attemnpt with this publicity stunt.