Before you touch the mouse, Gentle Reader, this is not going to be a sexist, male chauvinist, misogynistic rant. I am only trying to get your attention even if this means having to appeal a little bit to your, um, lower nature? Ah, she stoops to conquer.
I was on the bus this afternoon following work. Well, not exactly following work, since I had just been to the Shoppers Drug Mart at Granville and Thirteenth to purchase necessities (milk, toilet paper and laundry detergent, if you must know) True there is a Shoppers Drug Mart just one block from my apartment but I really don't much like the people who work there. I have found them to be inappropriately nosey and pushy about their damn points card, which I returned to them and refuse to get renewed. I said to the acting manager that I really did not want to be held hostage to having to shop every day at a store I don't like that much just to save a lousy ten bucks every year. He was gobsmacked, giving me that proverbial deer caught in the headlights kind of stare. I really don't care much for point cards unless they're at an establishment that I am going to patronize nearly every day, such as the No Frills supermarket (watcha see is watcha get!) but I generally find their prices to be so low and reasonable that I still haven't bothered to apply for one of their cards and besides the staff there are always polite and respectful about it. Unlike at Shoppers. Even at the Shoppers at Granville and Thirteenth the young lady at the checkout almost tried to push it, perceived my less than pleased vibe and immediately backed off. I thanked her for letting things proceed so neat and quick. I also twice nearly stumbled over the same young hipster couple, not because they were clumsy and not because I was clumsy but because, as the young man good-naturedly mentioned the second encounter, the aisles are narrow. I replied that I believe they call it "moving product, and if they continue to move product this way they will be moving me to a different store." They seemed pleasantly amused, as was I and I thought, how cool to be good-natured and witty with pleasant strangers and getting them to smile like that. I must keep doing this.
Leaving the store I dragged my loot to the nearest bus stop. I didn't have to wait long. The driver seemed like an affable young man, perhaps about thirty. He was chatting with two other young men around his age, possibly friends and certainly social peers to him. They were occupying the courtesy seat for the elderly and people with disabilities. The driver was explaining about the necessity of not driving with distractions and in a louder than appropriate voice proceeded to mention the danger of being distracted by "hot chicks".
Gentle Reader, I felt mortified. I really began to wonder which decade we were living in, if suddenly we had just departed to forty years in the past, especially the way his young fair-haired friends seemed to agree with him. I looked around and noticed there were women seated nearby and found myself wondering if anyone was feeling a little uncomfortable or unsafe. I began to wonder if I should go over to the young driver and express my concern and disapproval.
I have been here before, trying to correct or remonstrate with recalcitrant and odious bus drivers, and I tell you, darling, it is an absolute waste of time. They always become rude, hostile, defensive and even have tried to kick me off the bus for interfering with their work. And now that they work in tandem with armed transit cops I am certainly not taking that kind of risk again especially following an incident at a Canada Line station when I challenged an attendant about waiting till passengers are on the platform before checking their fares. I called it entrapment, which is exactly what it is, and suggested that maybe they should do it in front of the ticket machines instead so that if someone doesn't have the correct fare they can be redirected to the vendor without the humiliation of being punished. He became rude and verbally abusive and called over his armed cop buddy who responded by giving me a body search! When I reported this incident to Translink I actually did receive an apology.
When I disembarked from the bus I memorized the stop number as well as the bus number. For some unexplained reason on the online complaint form we are expected to memorize the stop number or the complaint won't be processed. I imagine they do this just to prevent folks from complaining. I did write out my complaint. I also asked if they could get the bus drivers to start proactively kicking selfish thoughtless lazy young louts off of the courtesy seats so that no elderly or disabled person has to do it for them.
And let's hear it for a public transit system where everyone feels safe!
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