Weekend Photo Diary: We Hope It Lifts 05.29.09
We chose the photo above to play us out into the weekend based largely on this second-in-a-row lame weekend-weather forecast for San Francisco. Your Muni Diaries editors will be out of the shittiness tomorrow, locked away in an effort to improve the site even further (as if) at WordPress’s WordCamp San Francisco. Don’t worry, we’ll pass on what we have learned.
We wish you and your loved ones a great time this weekend despite the gloominess outside.
xoxo,
Muni Diaries
Photo by aarontait from the Muni Photos Flickr pool.
Muni Mind Reader: The Bigot 05.29.09
This week’s crystal-ball installment of Muni Mind Reader channels a voice that you might have heard before on the bus — the opinionated bigot who loves to spew his spiel on the unlucky bus rider next to him. For the grouch, there is no “inside voice” and the Muni bus is his perfect soapbox where you have no escape. Well, not until your stop comes up anyway.
Good afternoon!
You look like a fine, upstanding citizen, one with a sound mind and solid principles. I am just certain you won’t mind if I drop a little of my hate-filled agenda on you. In fact, I have no doubts whatsoever that you are 100 percent in agreement.
Now don’t you say anything at all. I know a person by just looking at them what they’re thinking and what they’re all about. And well, the second I got on the bus, I just knew you were on the same page as me. Can’t put my finger exactly on it. Maybe it’s because you smiled at me or moved your bags off the seat next to you so I could sit down.
Breastfeeding on the 71L 05.28.09
In March, we posted a photo of a woman breastfeeding on the J-Church. The post prompted a lot of comments on either side of the public-breastfeeding debate. We learned that it is perfectly legal (of course, why wouldn’t it be?) to breastfeed in public in California — in fact, it is illegal to prohibit anyone from doing so in a public place. But what’s legal might still be considered out of the norm, as you can see from this email that we got from Mary today.
At 5:15 p.m. last night, the 71L was packed with the usual mixed clientele of workers, tourists and street people. At Van Ness a woman with small baby in front carrying pack got on the bus. She was offered a couple of seats as she passed toward the back of the bus, but she said she would stand. She had a cover over the baby, but as she passed me I could see from the side she was breast feeding the baby.
About four stops later the bus driver, woman, stood up and asked that the woman with the baby come forward. She did. After the bus driver spoke to her, she turned around and said to everyone, “Hey there’s no pornography going on here so you can all relax,” as she made her way back through the bus to where she had been standing. As she spoke to the woman accompanying her, she said the driver said several passengers had complained about her showing her breasts.
Unbelievable. It took me back 40 years to when I was breast feeding my son in the reception area of UCSF Medical Center and a security guard came and asked me to go to the restroom to feed my son. Yes, I had a blanket over him and me and “nothing” was showing.
So the most natural and best of motherhood is still not acceptable on Muni in San Francisco.
And as all this played out, two very intoxicated men stood over me swearing and carrying on a very drunk conversation about sex with some tourist woman they had met.
And Muni wants me to pay $1 more a day for this ride!
- Mary Stream
Good for the driver to stand up for this mom. I’m surprised that passengers would have complained to the driver about the mother showing her breasts. If you’ve been a reader of this blog or if you’ve been on Muni at all, you’d know there are plenty of other things to complain about besides breastfeeding.
Photo by Flickr user Raphael Goetter
Two-Seat-Takin’, Big-Balls-Havin’ Guy, in Photos 05.28.09
Since time immemorial, we’ve known about his type. Recently, Muni Mind Reader Tiffany Maleshefski paid tribute to him — he who takes up more than one seat on Muni solely by virtue of being well-endowed in the genital region (we suspect, rather flatteringly).
Well, Tiffany did us all the favor of capturing some images of this unfortunately not-so-rare species. For your enjoyment, watch as this man’s leg migrates ever closer to Tiffany’s lap. A note from Tiffany: “My leg is the brown trouser pant. You’ll note we are not dating and don’t know each other at all. Yet he is perfectly comfortable having his legs in my personal space.”
More photos of this progression below the fold …
30 Injured in 71 Haight-Noriega Crash 05.27.09
Thirty people were hurt, many seriously, in the Muni bus crash on Market and Jones last night around 8 p.m., according to CBS5, SFist, the Examiner, and our usual local media sources. The 71 bus crashed into another car, both going east on Market, reports the Chronicle (via Bay City News). Seven people were taken to the hospital and 23 were treated at the scene, Muni spokeswoman Kristen Holland told CBS5. The driver has been put on non-driving status.
We’ve reported about several past Muni crashes (F vs Zip car, N vs vehicle, Muni blocking intersection). Earlier this year, an ex-Tribune reporter died from Muni accident injuries. We learned last year that Muni has paid out nearly $66 mil to “people who allege injuries, fatalities, and property damage caused by the agency’s transit fleet.” Muni has reportedly been cracking down on their safety records.
So what the hell happened? The cause of the accident is still under investigation. No word yet on who was at fault. If you’ve got pictures or were around the scene, email us, tweet, or comment below.
Photo by Flickr user backofthebuspodcast of a 71-Haight/Noriega on a better day.
Douche bag alert and regulation 05.26.09
My colleague Jeff and I were finishing up our drinks at 83 Proof around Midnight, last Thursday night-Friday morning – big shout out to Hazel and Mark, btw – after a hectic night of editin’, paginatin’ and copyeditin’ for the SF Examiner. While plotting our next move, Jeff suggested we go to the Toronado since we were going to the Lucky 13 – our regular Thursday night watering hole – the following night to drink with Muni Diaries’ own Jeff Hunt and Tara Ramroop, who are celebrating their recent engagement (Like it hasn’t been mentioned on Muni Diaries a hundred times already, but, I digress). So I says, “Since you want to go to the Toronado, I suggest we take the 6-Parnassus, cause it’ll drop us off right out front.” After some haggling and debate over the length of time the 6 will take versus the underground, Jeff acquiesced to my suggestion, and what a great decision that turned out to be.
With “trusty” nextbus on my cell phone, I saw that we had 5 minutes to catch one at Market and Battery streets. Five minutes turned into about 6 or 7, but the bus did come (thankfully) and we got on. I sat in the seat on the driver’s side that has that extra leg room, just behind the first row that faces forward. Jeff sat on the seat behind me, and at this time, we were the only passengers on the bus. As we head down Market, stop to stop, the usual mish-mash of folks slowly amble on, from the young man with the drum sticks and faux-hawk, to the late-shift restaurant workers getting off work, to the quiet, silent types with their headphones and glasses, to the crackhead who had a hard time getting his fare together who then sat behind the driver not far from the young man with drum sticks and proceeded to sing and talk to himself trying to make eye contact with everyone in the front of the bus. This caused young man with drum sticks and faux-hawk to move to the back of the bus, opposite the driver’s side, to the seats that face each other. He sat in the row facing the front of the bus. A couple stops later, wanna be alpha-male and overall-slick mother fucker douche bag gets on the bus.
Weekend Photo Diary: Going Somewhere? 05.22.09
Well, finally! God is starting to behave like he should, damning this sleepy, quiet coastal town with a weekend of more or less shitty weather. Oh, well. Most of us would trade righteousness and cherubs for the debauchery-laden burg we call home. Right?
Speaking of debauchery, this weekend, among other goings-on, is Carnaval in the Mission. If you’re planning on Muni-ing anywhere near that neighborhood either Saturday or Sunday, do yourself a favor and peep this MTA Carnaval route schedule. Oh, and have a great weekend!
xoxo, Muni Diaries
Photo by sflovestory from Muni Photos Flickr Group pool.
Rampant on the 47 05.22.09
I don’t usually ride the 47 from Powell and Beach with crazy-ass Francisco students unless I’m visiting the new Barack Obama wax figure at the Wax Museum.
So here’s how it came down Thursday. Two groups of kids boarded the 47 at Mason and North Point, the good ones (group of three) stayed in the front, while the rampant ones (group of 10?) hung around the back.
After we left the stop, they started yelling and playing around, and it got to the point where this one guy yelled “Shut the fuck up, you guys are so fucking annoying!” One of the kids laughed, while another guy went up to the driver, and told him about what was going on.
The driver pulled over, but didn’t really try to shut them up. He said, “If you guys want to stay on this bus, then you guys need to quiet down, and do whatever you guys are doing, or if you get loud again, and I’m going to call the cops. OK?”
The driver returned to drive, and they started out again. The guy who told the driver the situation then proceeded to tell the kids that he was going to call the cops. He then got his cell phone out, and flipped it open, but did not call the cops, as the rowdiness was dying down. Some kids got off at Jones, but they were still pretty loud…
Sometimes I wonder why there aren’t cops on the bus full-time…*sigh*
If you’ve got stories of disruptive behavior, or anything BART- or Muni-related you want to get off your chest, let us know.
Photo by Paul Chinn/The Chronicle
Muni Mind Reader: Sunday Driver 05.22.09
Muni operators — love ‘em or leave ‘em. We riders have our fair share of complaints, some valid, about the way our brothers and sisters in brown do the driving of the bus. Too fast, too slow, too jerky, too much attitude. What we often fail to realizeis the fact that these driverly dispositions come from a very human place, intentionally or not. Drivers are people, too. And next time you get pissed off at one, especially because you’re late to work, remember that this driver is already on the clock.
This week’s Muni Mind Reader peers behind the frontal lobes of our best friends, without whom, really, think about it, there would be no Muni. Ahem.
Good morning everyone, and welcome aboard!
Now that’s right, just step on up, and kindly move to the back. Oh come now, don’t look at me that way, there is plenty of room in the back. Plenty! I am looking in my rear-view and I see acres and acres of room, so please passengers, just kindly push back. I said puuush back.
Okay! Is everybody in? I can’t close those back doors until everyone is off the stairs. Everyone up? Yes? Ha! YES! I guess they all are. And heeeeeere we go. I’m just going to ease my foot off the break, check both ways (twice), and…
Wait a minute. Everyone just hold on to their horses. I know, I know you have no idea why I stopped at a green light, so let me explain.
Cable Car Confessions:#7 The Conductor’s Daughter 05.21.09
This is our second installment of Cable Car Confessions, originally published on Under the Sheets by Laura. This month, we’re privy to a heart-warming story of a Muni family.
Ding ding all aboard. “Next stop Powell Street Chinatown. Tickets please show me your tickets please.” This cable car confession happened three days before Christmas. I was taking the cable car home after a very long day at work. I sat quiet trying to unwind from my day. The weather had turned cold for San Francisco so I sat inside to stay as warm as possible. I stared out of the window and fell deep into my thoughts, thinking about what I needed to do to prepare for work and for the upcoming holidays. I stared out onto the sides of the street – there were life sized ornaments in front of the office buildings and each building seemed to be wrapped in a holiday bow with white lights, red ribbons and Christmas trees.
I brought my attention back to what was happening inside of the cable car. I noticed that it wasn’t a full car yet and seemed occupied by mostly locals traveling home. There were two cable car drivers on the car. One man who was driving the front of the cable car had white hair, was short and very tiny. (Let’s call him Slim) The second cable car driver who was in charge of driving the back of the car and collecting tickets was tall and weighed around 250 pounds (Let’s call him Bob). We all had to squeeze in to make room as Bob walked by us. He was also very stern while collecting tickets, maybe even a little forgetful – I noticed that he asked for people to show their tickets again after they had just shown them to him.
A lady who was dressed in professional work clothes got onto the cable car at the next stop. She was a petite Asian woman who looked to be in her twenties. At this point, I was completely people watching or eavesdropping. Whatever you want to call it :) I wondered how Bob was going to treat this woman. To my surprise she was greeted by a huge and warm smile from Slim. Slim called to Bob and asked him if he knew who she was? Immediately Bob’s demeanor changed when he saw the woman. He went to her and instead of asking her for her ticket he hugged her.
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