Ticket to Ride

I called this Blog site 'Life is a bus ride' because I thought it had a lot of connotations. Not only do I spend two hours a day on a bus in a work week and see a lot of life from its murky windows that I would otherwise miss - but life in general has a lot of parallels to those bumpy rides.......

When i first started taking the big red M10 bus, the drivers seemed to be regulars. "Good Morning', 'Have a nice day', 'Thank you Driver' became the norm; and though they varied in character and temper as people do; they were, on the whole, pleasant and there have often been amusing moments. Though there was one exception...!

Bruce Willis is the one I could never forget.  My heart sinks if i see him at the wheel nowadays; though thankfully, his shifts have changed and he rarely darkens our route.
Not really Bruce Willis of course, but the resemblence is remarkable, especially when he wears a hat...
Does Bruce Willis wear a hat?
Anyway, he does look like him but I'm sure thats where the resemblance ends.  The first inkling one gets that he's a tad touchy is the scowl he wears when he has to let passengers on the bus.
Up to that point, sitting in his layby having a rest, he seems quite happy!
But once he starts up the bus, his animus takes over...
A friendly 'Good Morning' is totally ignored. No one gets on if they have a drink or food. School children get a lecture on standing - even if the bus is empty and woe betide you if you attempt to get off via the front doors!
Depending on his mood, he will let you off at your desired stop - or, he may just carry on to the next one and watch you trudging back, with a triumphant gleam in his eye!
Often, when he approaches a stop where a prospective passenger is waving him down, he will carry on past, gaily waving back at them.  The look on their faces is priceless!
He hates Taxi drivers with a vengeance and curses them regularly. Cyclists are his nemesis!  He edges the bus as close to their back wheel as he dares and then follows them like a kerb crawler.  He throws them curses out of his side window and on one occassion yelled "Change F***ing gear!!" before blasting the bus horn at which point the cyclist wobbled precariously and shot up onto the pavement and relative safety!
His favourite trick takes place when the bus is 'standing room only' He kindly allows passengers on to the bus and then takes off at a wheel spin, smirking in his rear view mirror as the people stagger towards the back of the bus like falling dominoes!

How does he keep his job?  I can only imagine everyone is too stunned to complain!