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Quote of the Day
Sep. 18th, 2010 08:46 pmIt is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder."
---Aldous Huxley
I dunno, it seems like pretty good and universal advice to me.
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As an example of why the store of kindness in the world needs increasing, my back and shoulders are killing me. This is NOT my fault.
You see, I went grocery shopping today, which involves taking the #13 bus up to the Tops grocery store next to the Ithaca Mall. It drops me off around 35 past the hour, I kill time for twenty-five or thirty minutes, pick up my groceries, go through checkout, possibly kill time some more, and then catch the bus back home at about 35 past the hour.
I got to the store with no trouble. I got my groceries with no trouble. Getting through checkout was slightly problematic, but they opened an extra lane to cope with the heavy customer traffic so that worked out too.
And then the #13 bus drove right past the bus stop without so much as opening its doors. Okay, so maybe it was so crowded there was no more room -- the #70 bus that drove by a couple minutes earlier had that problem. But at least the driver of the #70 had the courtesy to stop, open the doors, and explain why he couldn't take any more passengers. The driver of the #13 didn't even notice when a couple of the waiting would-be passengers (and there were a lot of us! we were not exactly easy to miss!) waved and ran after him as he breezed on through the intersection and away.
So I had to wait another ten minutes until a #30 bus pulled up, take a half hour ride all the way down to the Commons (instead of a <10 minute ride into Fall Creek), and then walk a mile back to my house carrying three heavy grocery bags and a 12-pack of Coca-Cola, stopping every two blocks to shake out my hands and shoulders and switch loads from one side to the other. All in all, I got home nearly an hour after I should have.
It could have been worse -- it was a beautiful day and I am neither weak nor generally averse to a long walk -- but there are limits!
I am going to call TCAT on Monday and register a complaint, because that bus driver's behavior was beyond rude.
---Aldous Huxley
I dunno, it seems like pretty good and universal advice to me.
---------------
As an example of why the store of kindness in the world needs increasing, my back and shoulders are killing me. This is NOT my fault.
You see, I went grocery shopping today, which involves taking the #13 bus up to the Tops grocery store next to the Ithaca Mall. It drops me off around 35 past the hour, I kill time for twenty-five or thirty minutes, pick up my groceries, go through checkout, possibly kill time some more, and then catch the bus back home at about 35 past the hour.
I got to the store with no trouble. I got my groceries with no trouble. Getting through checkout was slightly problematic, but they opened an extra lane to cope with the heavy customer traffic so that worked out too.
And then the #13 bus drove right past the bus stop without so much as opening its doors. Okay, so maybe it was so crowded there was no more room -- the #70 bus that drove by a couple minutes earlier had that problem. But at least the driver of the #70 had the courtesy to stop, open the doors, and explain why he couldn't take any more passengers. The driver of the #13 didn't even notice when a couple of the waiting would-be passengers (and there were a lot of us! we were not exactly easy to miss!) waved and ran after him as he breezed on through the intersection and away.
So I had to wait another ten minutes until a #30 bus pulled up, take a half hour ride all the way down to the Commons (instead of a <10 minute ride into Fall Creek), and then walk a mile back to my house carrying three heavy grocery bags and a 12-pack of Coca-Cola, stopping every two blocks to shake out my hands and shoulders and switch loads from one side to the other. All in all, I got home nearly an hour after I should have.
It could have been worse -- it was a beautiful day and I am neither weak nor generally averse to a long walk -- but there are limits!
I am going to call TCAT on Monday and register a complaint, because that bus driver's behavior was beyond rude.
