Give Respect, Get Respect: Practice What You Preach

The first part of the title of this post comes from a new ad I saw on the back of a bus today:

I literally gasped. Year after year after year, and day after day after day, people are hit and killed by Muni while crossing the street. True — not all deaths and injuries are Muni’s fault. But in general, if you see a bus when you have a ‘Walk’ sign, look in all 360 degrees before walking. Doing so is a sign of self-respect.

I’m just baffled that the agency feels they need to educate the general public on safety issues. Why not run those banner ads inside the bus … say, in the front seat? Next to the driver.

1 is the happiest number

Whoever wrote that song about one being a lonely number had it wrong. One, in fact, is the best number, at least in the Muni universe. My search for a new place to call home has mostly brought me to the Richmond and Sunset areas, putting me on the foreign 38-Geary and, today, the 1-California.

There isn’t enough time or space to explain everything that’s wrong with the 38. But what I have to say about the 1 is (hopefully) shortish and sweet.

This has to be the best bus route in SF. A friend said this is among the highest-rated lines for on-time performance and, incidentally, is the one Mayor Gavin Newsom uses. Seeing as how Muni funds are being slashed left and right, I can’t say the latter is that compelling a fact. But anyway…

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Tales From Olden Days 4

By Shannon

At the time I was living in Russian Hill and every morning would take the 30 to the Caltrain station downtown.

I was seated in the back of the bus, across from a severely pregnant woman accompanied by her younger brother. Her crop top left her swollen midriff exposed, a canvass displaying an array of stretch marks. She carried a cloud of tension with her onto the bus; her disposition was that of dynamite with a lit fuse. She swore and gesticulated so loudly that within no time she had commandeered the apprehensive attention of everyone on the bus. No one else dared speak in the shadow of such a volatile person.

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