Having waited for hours at the Portland Greyhound station for the bus to Salt Lake City, I curled up on the floor with my bags and went to sleep. After my nap, around 10:30 PM, I walked around a bit and met some girls from England who were on holiday here in the states traveling across the states to Washington DC. Then there was an announcement about our bus being delayed and that our driver, PJ, although he might be a bit crazy would get us to our location safely. Everyone laughed and enjoyed the humor created by the Portland staff. As it turned out, PJ, our driver, had been inspecting various buses to determine which one he would be able to take to Salt Lake City, having turned down several of them because they were not in good repair, he finally selected one, but none of us could have imagined that the others were any worse. This one bus didn't have a Public Address system, so he walked the isle and talked to everyone in a very jovial manner informing us about our trip.
Shortly after boarding the bus, which was fully loaded so everyone had to set next to another person, I curled up against the window and went to sleep. Later on I started talking to the man next to me. His name was Dean, from Eugene, Oregon, and traveling to Salt Lake City for a truck driving school. During this 20 plus hour trip we discovered there were five men all going to the same school, so I arranged introductions. Dean had been a flooring contractor, but the recession had it his business hard and had been out of work for over a year. This truck driving school was his answer to finding new employment.
Our driver, PJ, was from the Carolinas, but moved out West to take on the new routes. He was a refreshing change to the normally rude and unfriendly drivers on the other buses, with his jokes, and refreshing information along our trip. At one of the stops in Idaho, a young girl didn't get off the bus, which was where she was to exit for her next connection. We had already started driving again when PJ noticed the girl still on the bus. He stopped the bus, went and talked to the girl, then had a puzzled look in his brow. He apologized to everyone, but we all agreed it was the right thing, so he turned the bus around and took the girl back to the drop off point so she could catch the next bus. At this point we were all laughing on the bus and enjoying the ride with such a jovial and kind bus driver.
In Boise, Idaho, we changed drivers and picked up some new passengers. Our new driver tried to get the Public Address system fixed, but quickly gave up as the bus was in such bad maintenance. Since I was sitting up front, and her voice was already soft, I told her I would act as her mouthpiece for the trip to make the announcements for her. Bernie, as we all called her, was another one of those special bus drivers who made the trip fun.
By this point we were going to be late getting into Salt Lake City, so she was kind enough to allow everyone periodic stops for smoke breaks, to stretch their legs, and even once to get food from a Wendy's. This is the type of driver Greyhound should have everywhere, as her and PJ both provided excellent customer service and provided an air of fun. Also at this point, just about everyone on the bus knew who I was, so the conversations abounded, even from the front of the bus to the back. As Bernie said, "you don't know a stranger, do you?" Before the trip was over, just about everyone on the bus was talking with each other, sharing stories, and having fun, even if some of the fun was directed at me.
Bernie and I talked a lot on the trip about the state of Greyhound and how they had allowed the buses to become almost hazards to drive. I informed her of my horrible experience a few years ago with Greyhound and that I had published some information about Greyhound that wasn't published. By sharing my desire to affect change in the modern corporate structures, she asked if I could make sure to note just how bad the buses were and that they needed replacing or repairing. My hope is that through this 2 month bus trip that I will be able to get the attention of Greyhound corporate again and hopefully affect changes to improve how they treated their passengers.
I believe Greyhound has improved in some areas such as the awesome bus stations in Portland and Salt Lake City, but there is still a lot of work to do. Better services in the terminals and more comfortable buses would be a good place to start, then continue with replacing the rude drivers with ones like PJ and Bernie, and then further with proper training of their personnel.
By the end of the trip to Salt Lake City, everyone aboard knew who I was and I knew just about everyone on board along with their stories. I suppose I did meet someone, a whole bunch of special someones, including myself again, that outgoing, energetic, and fun loving self that brings people together. Perhaps I am the pied piper of story book legend.
Are you part of the solution and entertainment of the world or a cause of the trouble? How do you turn something bad into something good?
I'm now staying for a few days at the Avenues Hostel in Salt Lake City so I can allow my feet to heal, determine if I will continue on the medications, and get my mail from Austin (which includes my new social security card, medicare card, insurance cards, and bank cards with my new legal name.) At the moment my feet and legs are no longer swollen, so tomorrow I hope to explore the city. By the way, it is really hot in Salt Lake City.
No comments:
Post a Comment