Reuniting With My Muni Buddy

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Photo by Generik11

Rider Juniperks made a friend on the bus and never thought they would see each other again, but San Francisco is really a smaller city than you think.

I grew up in San Francisco, and had to take the Muni bus home from high school every day for four years. If I wanted to visit my friends on the other side of the city, public transportation was the only way to go. While the bus system in SF tends to get a bad rap, I was pleasantly surprised one day by a chance encounter with a stranger.

As I was sitting off to the side, shutting out the rest of the world with my iPod, George got on the bus and took a seat next to me. He offered me a piece of gum, the quintessential high school student peace offering, and we talked for the rest of the hour-long ride. Eventually we reached his stop, and we parted ways, knowing odds were good we would never see each other again.

But a year later, they did find each other. The rest of the story is on Juniperks’ tumblr blog.

What interesting characters did you encounter on your commute today? Tell us about it.

Even the Giants won’t celebrate without Muni

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Angels get their wings when Muni meets San Francisco Giants, or something like that that’s probably true.

Our San Francisco Giants, 2012 World Series champs, got champion-worthy bling from Tiffany’s last weekend. Since we can’t get cable cars on the field, we settled for this “cable car” party bus to deliver the goods. But, to boost authenticity and pay homage to the home city, real-life cable-car gripmen and conductors walked the rings to the field.

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Cable car operators are Muni’s cream of the crop and the city’s unofficial ambassadors—but don’t forget that many of them drove our everyday lines once upon a time.

@sfgiants follows us, and you should, too! See you and your thumb thoughts @munidiaries.

Top Five Muni Moments of the Week

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Photo by Dale331

In case you’re not already following @munidiaries, here’s what you missed this week on Muni.

The shuttering of LucasArts made one Muni rider wonder whether the 43-Masonic Falcon will be retired. Another rider wondered whether having phone battery life matching your Muni line was a good or bad thing. If you’re on the 108-Treasure Island, maybe!? The following astute observation was made: “There’s a direct correlation between shittiness of music and how loudly it’s played on public transit.” Joy and horror and wonder were experienced by a Muni passenger who sat down in a seat that was pre-warmed. And finally, the Muni/San Francisco mantra was unveiled: Don’t make eye contact with crazy. Indeed.

These gems were tweeted by @allysoneb, @sarahhdwyerr, @ImekaSF, @pixiethought, and @Ten_is_ha. Share your Muni experiences like they did. And follow @munidiaries to keep up with the craziness.

He wore a raspberry beret

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One! Two! One, two, three, HUH!

jcsnotes sent this our way, noting, simply, “He wore a raspberry beret.”

OK, you guys, let’s see how many more “Raspberry Beret” references I can get into this post:

  • Do you think he found it in a second-hand store?
  • He probably walked in through the out back door.
  • Overcast days always turn us on, actually. It’s San Francisco, for crying out loud.

I think I looooove this.

Here are the lyrics to this ’80s Prince classic so you don’t think I’m insane.

The Atlantic Ocean: Giant Transit Trash Can

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Photo by Stephen Mallon via Fast Company

Ever wonder what happens when old subway cars die? Many of New York’s end up in a watery grave.

Unbelievably, for more than 10 years the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority has been dumping its old cars into the Atlantic Ocean to create artificial reefs for ocean life. Some sit off the coast of Delaware. New Jersey, according to an Aug. 22, 2001, New York Times article, rejected the idea because of concerns about asbestos within the walls of the cars.

Photographer Stephen Mallon spent more two years taking some pretty spectacular photos of the subway car dumping, like the one above. You can see more here.

And take a moment to imagine BART cars being dumped into the Bay …

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