Sign Me Up, Laurence ...

Given Laurence Simon's recent fun with the local bus route that we occassionally share, I eagerly await my membership card for the "9-Gulfton Haters Club."

I head home at a surprisingly early hour ... before 6pm. With good reason. I've logged more hours than I care to lately and I'm tired and in need of sleep, which I get once the bus hits the highway. I wake up after the bus hits my stop, but that's fine. I can use a bite to eat anyways and the Whataburger on Fondren/Bellaire was sounding pretty good to me. I should note that when I awoke, the driver (who would later offer - reluctantly - a name of Ms. Atkins) was vocally engaged with a few passengers. For all I know she was yelling to try and wake me up. Good luck ... the MP3 player was set for Stryper and the free world loses my attention when that happens.

So I pull the chord to make the bus stop ... simple routine and all. Paranoid that I am, I always turn down the volume in order to ensure that the "ding" sound is clearly heard. Seems the new voice-over work in the new busses can sometimes make life more difficult for a less-than-attentive driver. No problem here. The "ding" being established, the driver then commences to speed past EVERY STOP ALONG FONDREN despite two other passengers needing to be let off at other moments.

Ms. Atkin then proceeds to tell everyone to get off at the end (about 6 of us). I rather politely ask if she's going back around because she missed the stop I called for. No dice ... she then proceeds to yell that I was asleep and therefore did no such thing. Apparently asking what the other folks who wanted off on Fondren were doing, she offered remarkably less insight. At this point, a whole lot of yelling was going on and none of it by me. At this point, I'm writing down bus numbers and asking for her name while keeping one foot in the door of the bus and one on the curb. No telling what this loon was capable of pulling tonight.

Upon getting the info I wanted, I hit the trail toward Sharpstown Mall. Ms. Atkins can be seen yelling, pointing, and looking at me as she pulls away. This made for an interesting moment when she was still at the stop sign as I walk up. I put my hand to my ear as if to inquire if she had anything she was brave enough to say to me more directly. No luck. She turns the corner honking her horn in a less than polite manner.

Literally, the worst bus driver I've run into with Metro. No idea what it was that woke her up on such a wrong side of the bed, but man I hope she finds a job that brings her a little bit more joy than her present one does. Clearly, she's in the wrong vocation right now.