Be Mime: Lost Wallet on Muni Leads to Love 01.24.12
Photo by Michela
Muni rider Elyse has a story that proves: You never know when or where (ahem, Muni) you’re gonna meet that person who has a way of changing your life.
Late that night, while on my way out to the Mission on the 33 bus line from Twin Peaks, with my housemate and a friend from out of town, the one-woman band of my dreams from SF Weekly boards the bus, Beat-Feet and all. Joking, my friends and I discuss which one of us was going to write the Missed Connection on
Craigslist later that night.
I make eyes her way and depart the bus shortly thereafter to go to the bar. Upon arriving at the bar I find that I have lost my wallet, and cannot even go into the bar with my friends. Going back to the bus route I check all the buses coming back and spend the rest of the night worrying about my lost belongings.
Three weeks later, all cards cancelled and renewed, I am spending a quiet evening going through Facebook random requests and see one from a name I do not know, but who does reside in San Francisco. It says she was in a clown college but the profile picture didn’t let me see her face. I decided to friend this person and just check it out, and upon realizing who the girl was I simultaneously realized that she must have found my wallet to have known my name and find me. I then found a message sent roughly three weeks prior with the friend request with her number. Quickly I called and left a voicemail, but didn’t hear back from her for the rest of the day.
Later that night, another housemate of mine, who obviously knew the entire story of just who found my wallet, runs into the cutely dressed mime, busking on a street corner, and she gets on a bus with him and decides to come to my house to explain what has since happened to my wallet.
I at the time am getting ready to go out in the Mission, and have been drinking for roughly two hours, with a friend from college. My roommate texts me and tells me not to leave until he gets home, thinking he is sick or something I obviously stay.
When he gets to the house with my surprise, my friends realize it is the Mime musician from the bus and from the magazine. She had come to my front door to explain that she had taken the twenty dollars and BART card in my wallet, and given the wallet itself to a friend, and also had cut up my cards. My addresses on all my cards were, at that time, San Diego and she hadn’t thought I really lived in San Francisco. She offered to play me a song with her Beat-Feet, and as I graciously accept she plays “Kiss” by Prince and my heart melts. And slowly but surely after months of easing into this magical experience we are deeply in love and laugh and play every day on the streets of San Francisco together.
We love Muni stories of all stripes. Got a Muni story? Share it here on Muni Diaries.
Contagious Laughter on the 33-Stanyan 11.07.11
Photo by Dave Schumaker
Muni rider Kevin has proof that laughter is contagious: including (especially?) when you’re on a nighttime bus full of strangers.
She’s sitting mid-bus: a tiny woman in an anorak jacket with the hood pulled up to her chin, giving her a weeble–like look. She’s talking a mile a minute to no one I can see, punctuating her monologue with the “HA HA HA” laugh. It’s a big laugh for such a little lady. There’s a definite twinkle in her eye.
I look around at my fellow passengers. They’ve all heard her. Frankly, you couldn’t not hear her. Most are smiling. Some are laughing along with her. The guy next to me is shaking with silent laughter. Every “HA HA HA” brings him closer and closer to losing it.
I crank down my music to try and hear what she’s saying. From what I can make out, it’s mostly a stream of nonsense. But whatever it is, it sure is amusing the hell out of her and, by extension, most of us as well.
We San Franciscans get used to daily encounters with the crazy. It’s usually sad, sometimes gross and, once in a while, scary. Tonight, at least, it came in the form of a bus ride full of laughter.
Laughed for no goddamn reason on Muni and wish you could do it more often? Got the giggles waiting for your bus? Send us your story once you’ve collected yourself again.
The 33-Stanyan doesn’t live by anyone’s schedule 09.30.11
Photo by Julian Walker
Take it away, Mike:
Forget cheesy tour buses, let the 33-Stanyan be your guide to a real San Francisco experience. The journey starts at California and Arguello, whenever the bus chooses to grace you with its presence. Don’t bother checking the schedule. The 33 doesn’t live by anyone’s schedule. And whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of walking to Geary to check the NextBus sign. That move only guarantees that a conga-line of at least three 33s will pass you by before you even get to Clement.
I know, you may have heard tales of the mythical between-stops pickup happening on the 33. Unfortunately, current evidence is inconclusive, and do you really want to take that risk? It’s best to just be patient; the 33 is a finicky creature and will only make an appearance when the time is right. When that time comes, your tour begins.
Your friendly guide will take you on a winding route around the corner of Golden Gate Park, followed by a meandering journey through the Upper Haight. You’ll see it all as the bus traverses the neighborhood at just under the speed of walk. Watch the crazies come, watch the crazies go, watch the crazies do their crazy thing all around the bus. Hopefully the other senses are kept to a minimum, because feeling, smelling, or tasting any craziness could really ruin your day.
Feel free to make eye contact, if you please, and you’re sure to be immersed in a bizarre conversation that you’ll be able to regale your friends with later [on Muni Diaries, natch].
By the time the bus arrives at the iconic Haight-Ashbury corner to begin its climb up the hill, most of the crazies have departed, leaving only those in for the long-haul. Those who got off, though, are missing out on the best part. Up here, at the peak of the 33′s route, where Clayton meets Market, this bus has the best view in all of Muni. Take it all in! (Don’t take a deep breath, though: Remember, this isn’t some crisp mountain peak; you’re still on Muni here.)
If you’re lucky, maybe the bus will come off the wires making that sharp corner, or maybe an inbound 33 will be stuck against the wall, giving you a few extra moments to savor the scenery. From here, it’s down the hill, through the Castro and into the Mission, picking up and losing the local denizens of each neighborhood along the way. Already, the crowd has morphed from hippies and crazies to mostly gay, and now you’ll find yourself surrounded by hipsters. Where else do you get to meet such a diverse mix of people on one bus ride?
What happens after the bus leaves the Mission? Well, I can’t give away the ending — you’ll have to ride it yourself and find out! OK, honestly, I’ve never made it past Potrero, but I like to imagine that the unexplored outbound terminus is where all the magic happens on the 33. There are probably unicorns and rainbows and perhaps at least a few leprechauns involved. Or maybe there’s a whole tribe of undiscovered crazies down there. Won’t you take a ride and let us know?
Good idea. Let us and Mike know what those last few blocks of the best tour bus in town are like. Thanks, Mike.
Read about upskirts and more from Thursday’s winner, ArchiJoey, who reviewed the 45-Union. Write your own review of a Muni line on Google Places, and you can win $50 tomorrow!
(I didn’t even know it was) Lost and Found 09.07.11
Apparently I had dropped my work ID on the bus. I didn’t notice until I got to work, but I had just assumed that I left it at home. About two hours after I got to work, my Muni driver walks into my office, hands me my ID, and says, “Hand delivery.” I wouldn’t have figured out that I left it on the bus until I got home and then I would have had to go through all the lost and found junk. At very least he saved me a trip to the SFMTA office. I think a big thank you is due to all of the drivers out there who do that extra little bit that makes public transportation not terrible.
This IS above and beyond! Thanks for the story, Jeremy. What other exemplary behavior have you seen on Muni? Let us know.
Why You Haven’t Seen Muni Driver Tammy 07.07.11
A few months ago we got an email from Tammy, who told us why we haven’t seen her smiling face on Muni for so many months. In November 2010, Tammy’s 19-year-old son, Deante Fuller, was killed in a car accident near Antioch. Deante’s friend, Steavean Taylor, was arrested and charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run causing death, Paul Burgarino of the Contra Costa Times reported last year. Taylor had left Fuller trapped and dying in the car when they crashed into a tree, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Tammy has been on leave ever since the accident — she said that she did not want to put her passengers in danger while she coped with the trauma of her son’s death. We met with Tammy this month to talk more about her life since her son’s death.
At our meeting, Tammy brought framed photos of Deante, his girlfriend, and their baby daughter Myonie to show me. She and Deante were particularly close because he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and struggled in school, she told me. The day before his death, Deante helped a woman whose husband had threatened to dump her off the Antioch Bridge, Tammy said. Deante was driving and saw a woman running along the freeway. The woman told him that her husband had been threatening her and Deante drove her to the police station, Tammy said.
Tammy has been working on forming a support group in the Antioch area for parents who have lost their children to violence, she said. She’s made hundreds of fliers with pictures of Deante and her address and phone number, encouraging parents to contact her if they need someone to talk to. Other Muni drivers have been extremely supportive of her family, she said, and many of them were at Deante’s memorial service. She is also working on writing a book and creating a not-for-profit organization called Heavenly Bound Angels in Deante’s memory.
(Tammy and other parents were interviewed in this Contra Costa Times story about mothers of slain children.)
When we first learned about Tammy last year, we knew that she was someone who made living in San Francisco extraordinary. Hands down, running Muni Diaries is a worthwhile experience if only for stories like Greg’s:
I hop on the first bus, frustrated that yet again it would have been faster to drive. The bus driver apologizes, saying the two buses that were supposed to be in front of hers aren’t running today. Then she offers me my choice of wrapped candy from a dish by the fare machine and for the first time I actually look around at bus 2442 driven by Tammy.
It’s like a Fourth of July party inside Tammy’s bus. There are red white and blue streamers, balloons, coils that say “happy,” banners and party lanterns hanging from the railings. Large handwritten posters adorn the windows thanking her riders and spouting truths such as “Until Muni realizes that without our passengers there’s no Muni!” and pretty much everyone has a smile on their face.
Tammy told us that she is working on a website for her support group, but needs someone with more tech experience to set up a basic site. If you want to get in touch with Tammy, you can contact her here.
Well-behaved Muni passenger 07.06.11
Photo Diary: ‘All kinds of weird shit went down’ 04.12.11
Heather‘s rad Muni tale is a few years old, but evergreen for us:
All kinds of weird shit went down on my bus ride back from HMCRA today–people transporting enough grape juice to quench a high school, a 60-year-old dude totally covered in (some really awesome) tattoos (we’re talkin’ legit head-to-toe, here)–but this guy wins hands down. Homie totally just rolled up onto the 33 today with this patio chair, put it down in the aisle next t to me, and sat down in it. From something like 16th and Mission to 24th and Potrero.
We missed this dude when we did a roundup of creative seating on Muni last month. Apologies.
Best of 2010: Driving Muni with a smile 12.30.10
And of course Muni is SF magnified times infinity.
That’s perhaps why it was so refreshing and uplifting to learn about Muni operator Tammy. Rider Greg shared his story of Tammy’s last days driving the 33-Stanyan (she now drives the 24-Divisadero) back in May. And oh how it resonated.
Nearly eight months later, it’s still my favorite diary of 2010. What’s yours?
Rocking Muni for the Giants 11.02.10
Video by Amber Wolf of Wiz Bang Photography
Watch the 33-Stanyan wade through the thicket of toilet paper and Giants fans in the Castro in the video above.
Fans in the Marina atop a 30-Stockton (photo by @jcsnotes):
More fans in the Marina took over the 2-Clement (photo by SHUN [iamtekn]:
I got a couple of pictures of guys hopping on top of a soon-to-be-stranded 14-Mission, on Mission Street, in (you guessed it) the Mission:
Amy grabbed this short video of that same 14-Mission:
Ariel has a shot of the 22-Fillmore stuck in the Mission:
Giants fans on Muni were burning up Twitter last night too:
“Some guy stepping off the L announced GIANTS 3-0!! Driver repeated it over the PA. No reaction from riders. Me: Really? Giants!” @wallbounce
“people are sitting on 30s here on Chestnut. First Clipper now this. Anarchy!! Let’s go Giants clap x5″ @jcsnotes
“28 driver now leading @SFGiants cheer.” @dalbizo
“I’ve never experienced anything like last night in SF after the win… I just remember running through cloudy MUNI buses #SFGiants” @cementone
Indeed. Indeed.
Congrats to the 2010 San Francisco Giants!
Muni driver Tammy in YouTube documentary 06.08.10
Rider Carlos sent us a documentary he found on YouTube about a Muni driver. It was none other than Tammy, who held a great party on the 33-Stanyan for her riders (see Greg’s post about Tammy in May).
“The Front Seat — A documentary about San Francisco Muni Bus Drivers” was made by Sara Biegelsen at Digital Video Workshops. In it, Tammy talks about why she takes her job so seriously: “All these people on my bus, I’m responsible. Their lives are in my hands. You can’t put a price on that.” She also explains how drivers sometimes have to adjust their mood based on the line they’re driving.
Thanks, Carlos, for the tip. And thank you, Tammy, for your amazing attitude. It’s great to see you in motion.
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