FW: Daniel Lieser

oas http://www.mehrgenerationenhaus-nuthetal.de/wruxw/RNDCHR,3,15%/lmbsczafiyhym/jva/bbyamf.htm

cikn

thanks!

A million (no, a zillion) thanks to the Transportation Task Force for support our use of mass transit this past semester.  It was an extremely hectic semester for me and knowing that I could just hop on the bus and not panic because I had forgotten correct change made life a little easier.  The pass always gives me a sense of ownership of the three transit systems I ride.  I’m now back to just another anonymous rider.

 

Again, thanks.

 

Matt

 

M a t t  W a r n i n g

Associate Professor
Department of Economics
University of Puget Sound
Tacoma, WA 98416-1057
Phone:  (253) 879-8555
http://www.ups.edu/faculty/mwarning/

 

I hate Inflation

I have to say, I’m a little miffed at Pierce Transit. I recently heard that the fare for the bus was increasing effective January 1, 2009. Currently, adult fare is $1.50 and the fare will be going up to $1.75. This is going to increase the monthly pass from $54.00 to $63.00. That’s a lot of money. I thought that with gas prices being so high this year and more people riding the bus, they wouldn’t have to increase the fare, but sadly, that’s just not the case. This is why it’s more important than ever before for the Transportation Task Force to get these bus projects rolling. I’m so grateful for the discounted passes I received for September-November, but now with prices going up, I’m going to be feeling the pain in my pocketbook. While I do work at Puget Sound, I am also going to graduate school, which I pay for along with books. It adds up quick and with the holidays coming… I’m just tapped out. I hope that the Transportation Task Force will continue to work and expand this bus project because it is sustainable, but also, in these tough economic times, we need all the breaks we can get. So, thank you to TTF for the wonderful opportunity this year and I will be looking forward to your projects in the future!

 

Amy, Staff Member

Bus Buddies Reunited!

The bus buddies and I have been a little out of touch. Our schedules just have not been coinciding this semester, so there have been far fewer chuckles on my daily commute, however late last week the stars aligned and when the 16 pulled up to the stop on North 2^nd and Division, the bus buddies were reunited at last. It was a very happy and pleasant commute, though again, much too short. Funnily enough, Zac knew other buddies on the bus, so he had the joy of feeling really popular on his morning commute as many people were happy to see him.

 

Zac and I were also able to enjoy another pleasant conversation over dinner at Doyle’s. I’m excited to say, he’s looking forward to my upcoming show and was laughing very much while reading the script. It excites me greatly and I hope others will enjoy it just as much. He even invited me to join his church choir and offered his knowledge and support for my show. My bus buddies are such lovely and wonderful people and I know that if I didn’t ride the bus each day, I truly would have missed out on two great friendships.

 

Amy E. Corcoran '06

Student Financial Services Specialist

University of Puget Sound

253-879-3234

 

Stranger Danger?

Have you ever been given a gift by a stranger? This happens to me a lot and I think it’s because I’m nice; too nice, really. I make eye contact with strangers, smile, and say hello and this has caused me to be put in some pretty awkward situations.

 

I was followed around a grocery store once, cornered, told I was beautiful, and asked out on a date, all because I simply made eye-contact with a man. I went to a bar once and an older lonely French man proposed to me after I spent the evening in conversation with him. A couple from Gig Harbor once gave me a ride in the middle of the night as I walked to a bar in Hilltop. At this bar, I was offered employment by a pimp and given a portrait of myself by a man I didn’t even see. He just handed it to me and slipped out the door. I have oodles of these kinds of stories because these kinds of things just seem to happen to me. Like this next one:

 

For about a year, I have been catching the 16 on Commerce St. There is a man that I see Monday through Friday that makes me really uncomfortable. It’s completely irrational because all he does is wish me a good day or a good weekend, but for some reason he just makes me feel uneasy. I have been thinking about him a lot recently and wondering if I would be this uncomfortable if he was a little younger and a little more attractive. I’m ashamed to admit that I would probably not be as scared if I found him attractive. I could tell he must be an art student because he’s always carrying one of those large cases and takes the 2 to TCC. I felt bad that I had pegged this man as creepy and so am making an effort to be a little bit nicer to him.

I haven’t seen him much this week and was a little relieved, but at the same time wondering where he could be. Then this morning, I saw him get off his bus to make his transfer on Commerce and he walked right past me without saying anything. Again, I was relieved.  A few moments later, he walked back up to me and got a little too close for my comfort level. I realized he was pulling something out of his case and he handed me this beautiful drawing he did. It reminded me of my backpack. It had the same color of purple in the background and the same exploding flowers. He just handed it to me, told me to have a good weekend, and walked away.

 

 

 

 

 

If you keep making that face it'll stick like that

I was riding the bus back to my friend's apartment one night. I was sitting so I was looking backwards, and a young man was sitting about halfway back, facing forward. We made eye contact and he looked interesting so I thought about moving so I could talk to him, but didn't. The next time we locked eyes he made a weird face at me, so I made one back. We kept doing this for about fifteen minutes, then he came up to the front of the bus and introduced himself. I asked him if he wanted to sit down, but he said he couldn't because he had to get off the bus. I didn't think anything of it, then a few weeks later we ran into each other in a store where I happened to remember his name. We talked, exchanged numbers, and now we're friends.

Lauren, Student

September Bus Blog

Thanks for my half price September and October bus passes, Sustainability Team!  They are *much* appreciated!

 

 

You Have To Be This Tall To Ride

One Monday morning in early September I stepped on a pretty empty bus to ride to work.  There was a slightly smiling man in a suit and tie in one of the first rows on the left and a group of three small boys next to him on the right, a few young people closer to the back.  I took a seat behind the three boys and admired their matching lunch pails and tiny hoodies and skate shoes.  They appeared to be brothers – all three freckled with hair ranging from red to strawberry blond.  They were very quiet, glancing at each other frequently but not saying anything.  Every so often the oldest would nod to the younger two in response to some unspoken question.  I looked over at the well-dressed man I assumed to be their father.  He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them.  As we headed up the street, the oldest boy reached a tentative hand up to the stop cord, the other two looking on nervously, then put it back down.  At each stop, they worried silently with quick moving glances.  The man near them didn’t seem to notice.  I started wondering if they were by themselves.  Once we neared the next turn, the oldest pulled the cord and the three boys, looking around furtively but not saying a word, started to step off.  It was clear by now that they were by themselves.  They stepped off at the corner and stood at the stop, where no bus would meet them until the next bus on the same route, headed the same direction, would arrive a half hour later.  I wondered why they weren’t at school by that time of morning and why they were riding the city bus alone. Wondered how young you had to be before the bus driver questioned you.  I wanted to follow them off the bus and ask them if they were ok.  They looked unsure and worried.  I wondered if one of us, riders or bus driver, should have checked in with them.  I know kids today have such intense stranger danger-fear instilled in them by their parents - I didn’t want to freak them out.  I thought about them a lot that day and hoped they reached their destination safely.  Hoped they weren’t trying to run away from home bus by bus with all of Pierce Transit as unmoving witnesses.  Hoped if they were trying to run away from home with good reason that they reached Grandma’s house without meeting the wolf.

 

The Singing Bus Driver

There is a 16 bus driver who sings the upcoming stops in a fine, robust tenor.  It makes for a happy ride. 

Please, if you happen to ride his bus, don’t just say thank you – sing it.  It will show him his positive attitude is appreciated.

 

Leah

Leah Coakley

Administrative Specialist

Office of the Chief Diversity Officer

Access Programs

University of Puget Sound

Howarth 215B

253.879.2827

 

Start 'em young

As with most human behavior, people's comfort level with riding the bus seems to depend on prior experience and habit.  If riding the bus is a natural thing for you, the sometimes odd but nearly always harmless behavior of some of your fellow passengers rarely fazes you.  For this reason, I've gone out of my way to introduce my young son to the bus.  We ride fairly frequently to places around town here in Olympia, most often (but not always) if his mother is using the car.

For example, a few weeks ago we were headed out one weekend to our local Children's Museum, a favorite haunt, and I decided it'd be a good day to take the bus downtown.  We caught our bus a few blocks from home without incident (the woman sitting at the curb near our stop complaining about how the last driver had refused to let her on without paying notwithstanding) and made a smooth connection at the transit center.... about a 20 min ride altogether.

On the way home we caught our first bus after a short wait and headed for the transit center.  Now, my son likes to sit near the window on the bus.  He loves being up high and being able to see everything.  Usually this is fine but can present some issues when the bus is at all crowded (which these days is much of the time as anyone riding the bus will have noticed).  We reach the transit center and I point out our connection.  Suddenly, my son bolts for it at top speed and before I can catch up he's on the bus and headed to the back.  I step onto the bus just in time to see my little bull clambering over the lap of a large, gruff-looking, somewhat unkempt about 250 lb dude with a bushy grey beard in the back seat so he can get to the rear window seat.  Thankfully, this guy didn't seemed bothered and took it in stride and I managed to coax my son to sit next to me at a different window seat, albeit with our backs to the window. 

At the end of the day, we had a great trip to the museum and he's getting used to the idea that riding the bus makes sense, even in a city made for cars.  I imagine by the time he's my age, that may change (gas prices, global warming, all point to more dense living where transit makes sense).

Garrett, Staff

Bus Buddies

I have been riding the bus for about a year. In the beginning, I was terrified! Is this the bus I get on? Who can I ask? Am I outbound or inbound? What if the bus is late? Why is that crazy woman yelling at me and telling everyone I’m her daughter? I’ve never seen her before in my life! Luckily, I found that there is a whole culture and community when riding the bus. I have definitely had my share of frustrations when riding, but to smooth out those rough days, I have my bus buddies.

 

It took time for my relationship to develop with my bus buddies. There is a small group of Loggers that rides the 16 each day and one woman I recognized from my time as a student. She’s very popular and knows pretty much everyone on campus. I’m staff now, so I should be bold and strike up conversation with her, right? I mean, we’re all staff, there’s no reason to be shy! It took about 14 bus trips with the lady, Jane, before I was confident enough to speak to her, but after that, we were fast friends. Through her, I met Zac, my other bus buddy. The two of them are absolutely wonderful and have made my time on the bus much too short. I’m always a little bit sad when we pass 15^th and Oakes because I know that soon it will be time to get off and we will part for the day.

While riding, we talk about the bus drivers and schedules, as well as work and family. It makes me sad to think that I might never have had the opportunity to get to know them, if it hadn’t been for the bus. Our friendship has moved beyond the bus too. We’ve gone out for dinner and drinks and have met each other’s partners and friends. There’s always a giggle over how we met. “We’re bus buddies!” we proudly shout.

 

 It’s always a joy to bump into each other on campus. There’s a throwing up of our arms in the air and a hollering of, “BUS BUDDY!” as we rush towards each other. People stare. It’s okay. You’ll understand, someday.

 

Amy, Staff Member

Isolation and community on the bus

I'm a fairly shy person when it comes to strangers. Making eye contact is sometimes intimidating and I'm not yet sure where I fit into this community. The bus is a slightly different experience. Everyone getting on the bus share the ride; both the risks and rewards. We all get to where we need, and if anything bad happens, we're in it together. There is a connection for that five, ten, twenty minutes from point A to point B, and in my experience, the people on the bus are quite friendly. I moved once to allow an older gentlemen a seat, and he gave me a delicious piece of Big Ben candy.

Even though many people are isolated by their music and books, there still feels like a bond, a smile, a shared joke.

Baby steps.

Amy, student.

The Long Way

Subject: The Long Way

By now, I feel pretty confident in my ability to navigate the Tacoma and
Seattle bus system. Or at least I thought I was, a recent bus expedition
proved otherwise. I was trying to get to point A, in this little scenario.
Point A being a place that I have managed to get to via bus in the past, but
this time, I had printed out directions, because for some reason I thought I
needed them. My first mistake was standing on the wrong side of the road.
After the bus I should have gotten on, passed me going to opposite
direction, I took a deep breath, re-established my patience, and stepped
onto a bus that I knew very well was not the correct one. I ended up
basically being driven around to Tacoma, hitting up point E, point V, point
K, etc., before finally completing to circle, and landing at my
destination&lsqauo;in short, a trip that should have taken 10 minutes, took 40
minutes. But, I got to know Tacoma a little more intimately, realized I¹m
better off without directions, and had the fact that every bus trip presents
a new adventure, reaffirmed.

Tara, Student

Monks and Baseball

Subject: Monks and Baseball

One Saturday morning I set out on my way to Qwest Field to see the Dalai
Lama speak. By the time I made it down to the transfer station in down town
Tacoma however, I realized my plan of giving myself an hour extra to get up
there was a huge underestimate on my part. I boarded the good ol¹ 594 to
Seattle, to find an already packed bus. So me, along with the dozen or so
others at the bus stop, all loaded up together, and stood for what turned
out to be an extended trip, due to traffic being re-routed because of the
Daffodil Parade.

So, as I¹m standing my way up to Seattle, a conversation starts up between
the others standing, as a few people tried to sardine themselves in seats
that had been squished together to make room for a wheel chair. It quickly
became clear that the bus was filled with people who, like me, were going to
see the Dalai Lama, and those who were headed up for the Mariners game
scheduled for later that day. This proved to be an interesting mix of
people. One of the Mariners fans asked, ³What is the Dalai Lama?² To which
someone kindly replied, ³he¹s a religious leader.² The man said, ³oooh yeah,
he¹s Jewish isn¹t he?²

Then again, if someone had asked me to name the team the Mariners were
playing again, or who one of their starters was, I would have been at a
loss.

Tara, Student

this and that

This will be a follow-up on an earlier posting, as well as something new.

 

Jean, the subject of a previous blog, was just given a present from Pierce Transit of a fishing rod and reel, to mark her 30^th year of service.  At the party someone showed her my blog about her.  Her husband joked that he recognized the picture of his wife, but not my written description. At least he must have been joking, since no lawyer has yet shown up with a libel suit. She was going to try out here new fishing gear this past sunny weekend , but the motor of the boat she was going to use didn’t cooperate, so I haven’t heard any fish stories yet from her.

 

 

In addition to my favorite driver Jean, let me say thank-you, before this BlogSpot goes out of business, to the wonderful women who work in glassed-in environment of the Bus Shop by the waterfalls on Commerce.  St. It’s there you can go for the next month’s pass or tickets, as well as bus change, schedule information, lost-and-found, etc. They have been invariably helpful, cheerful and efficient, except when their computers are balky, for which they will keep apologizing. And when, as happened not long ago, someone ii a car came by and snatched my book bag on the bus stop bench while I was looking in the other direction., they have been very sympathetic and solicitous.  One of these women, and one who has been especially helpful, is Laurel, who lives across the street of Professor T.T and his wife, with whom we share a mutual acquaintance/   So we chat about our UPS connections whenever I’m in the Shop and no one else is in the waiting line.  In a way, a kind of impromptu town and gown get-together,

 

Wallace,

Staff

 

Everyday Discourse: From Trotsky to Keynes

On average a typical bus ride consists of reading or listening to my iPod with an occasional conversation with one of my fellow riders. Today, my normal, would be 30 minute ride transpired into a discourse of the last century and the western world. The gentlemen sitting to my left appeared engaged and eager for conversation. I learned pretty fast that he was a WWII Vet and served his country proud. Beyond that, I was intrigued by how he so eloquently explained the perils of the European-American struggle in the early-mid 20th century and the inner workings of western world. As the title suggests, there was plenty to be covered in this 30 minute ride; each minute was a decade covered and a decade lost. The content was great and the historical account was unparalleled in many respects. The most exciting part to me, however, was his passion. It has been a while since I have met someone with such radiating emotion and passion for a multitude of subjects. Over the span of the ride, he never wavered in his tone or feeling and by the end of the ride, I felt as though I was there with him the whole time. In the end, my would-be ordinary ride turned into so much more and I am glad that every once in a while we are challenged and engaged into a dialog of debate and good-hearted discussion.

Nathan, student

public figures

 

One thing about public transport here is that I haven’t seen public figures on it, unlike New York where Mayor Bloomberg rides the subway.  Years ago, I met Gary Locke canvassing for votes at the Federal Way bus transfer stop, but that has been the extent of my transport encounters with public figures.  Or rather “public figures” in the narrow sense.  In a broader sense, there are people who are not politicians or celebrities, but who have developed a public persona, a visibly noticeable image that sets themselves apart from the rest of us. Those are some of the sorts you will see on public transport.  Today’s blog will be about three of them, riders who enrich the texture of commuting.

 

To begin with, in order of proximity, there is “Three-fingered-Jack,” the grizzled-bearded street musician, often to be seen in Diversions with a newspaper and coffee. He invariably rides the afternoon bus to Seattle for Mariners and Seahawks games, carrying his fold-up chair and battered guitar case, and has dibs thanks to age and disability to the front bus seats.  If you don’t know, he’ll tell you.

 

Then there is another man of the hippy generation, but with more bizarre facial hair, who often rides the morning bus to Tacoma.  Details of his costume had indicated to me he was a clown (the hayseed denim overalls stopping above the ankles, with candy-colored striped socks and overlarge shoes below).  Yet his lumbering bulk seemed too intimidating and his features too hard-bitten for any parent to want to hire him to entertain a kiddy birthday party.  The sort of clown he was became clear in last November’s Seattle Weekly article on the “Pike Street All-stars.”  His public name is “Squeaky Tom,” who after a series of hard knocks is trying to make a living selling varied shaped balloons at the Market.

 

My last example is not a public entertainer in a professional sense, though he performs. He may not have a street name like Jack or Tom, but he has fashioned a public image with his fashionable dress of yesteryear. When he rides the buses in Seattle, he joshes with the drivers and fellow passengers, calling them “young whipper-snappers.” Old-fashioned expressions come naturally to describe him, since he is two years short of being a century old, as he proudly told us on the bus last week.  He’s a “nifty dresser,” something like George Raft, periodically seen on the Turner Classic Movie channel.  He wears his hats (including the kind of stiff straw boater hat that stopped being common street wear in the early 1930s) at a rakish angle, and sometimes has a “boutonnière” on his lapel.  He cuts a jaunty figure on the sidewalk, even or especially with his cane. He is in his public encounters, what in 19^th century France was called a “flâneur.”

 

If you’re into people watching, as a flâneur of today, public transport is a good way to go.

 

 

Wallace,

Staff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Boomerang

I decided to further expand the scope of my bus riding by taking the bus early on a Saturday morning to Vassault Playfield to meet a friend and run part of the Sound to Narrows course.

 

So, I catch the #28 to Tacoma Community College for the connection with the #10 heading north.  (To my great interest, the bus that ran the #28 route became the bus that then ran the #10 route.)  Rather than sit on a bus going nowhere I leave figuring that the driver left so I can get back on when she gets back on.  While she and I wait for the assigned departure time, we are entertained by a Pierce Transit employee who, apparently on a break from driving his Pierce Transit pick-up truck, takes time to practice his boomerang throwing and catching (or fetching if the boomerang returned to his vicinity).

 

This guy had some obvious confidence and skill because he was throwing in the parking areas for the buses with nothing and no one in danger.   When the driver and I got back on the bus, I should have asked her if she knew Mr. Boomerang, but it was too early for complete sentences.

 

Has anyone else seen the boomerang guy?

 

Brad, Staff

 

Jean

Hello, to whomever is out there.

Last week the call went out that we should post blogs with pictures of our favorite bus drivers. This blog will be about Jean, who may even appear in the digital camera image of her inserted into this message. Or perhaps not, because of technological hiccups. This is my second attempt this week. In any case, she has a very welcoming face. I’ve had many good bus drivers from and to Seattle-Tacoma, and once to Olympia, but clearly Jean excels. We meet most mornings at the no. 11 bus stop, either at the Dome Station, after I’ve ridden the Sounder (excellent connection), or at the 10^th and Commerce stop, after I’ve walked the length of Pacific and Commerce, as described in a previous blog posting.

Jean is an excellent driver, and in fact has been offered the job to train the newbie’s. She also willingly tells the less experienced drivers the tricks of the trade not covered in basic training.

But her bus skills aside, she excels with her people skills. She knows how to control the occasional unruly passenger, but always with velvet-gloved hands, thanks to the skills she honed as a mother, grandmother, and nurse. She knows her regular passengers, often on a first-name basis, and looks out for them, when they aren’t waiting at their usual stop, or when, as happened to me, they are too absorbed in reading, that they are about to miss getting off at their regular stop. She facilitates conversation on her bus (one rider even saying the bus ride made her arrive at work finally fully awake, like having had a cup of java. But if no one on the bus wants to speak, she is also happy with that. She is invariably open, alert and friendly, even when, as happened after a recent weekend of muscle-straining yard work and obligation to entertain a houseful of guests. Jean is already ready for the challenges of the new day, and never a curmudgeon in the process.

When I took a picture of her last Friday to include in this posting, she said that someone else had pointed a camera at her earlier. Another UPSer? So this encomium may not be the only one she’ll be receiving this week.

Wallace, Faculty

April

Wowza, is it gonna be April already?  Don't forget to grab your new pass on Tuesday morning! 

curling up with a good book...

It may be counterintuitive that one of the only places I get to do that is on my commute; thinking of the public bus doesn't typically conjure images typically involving snuggling up with a warm pile of pillows, a cup of tea (or coffee, as we are in the Pacific Northwest), and some choice reading material.  But on Friday, with the weird snow-slush-rain-hail, the #1 passed my stop when I was a block away on Lawrence.  I headed down to the stop by Starbucks with the shelter and waited until the next one (did I mention I love that I only have 15 minutes to wait whenever I miss this line?  Just enough to walk a few blocks, shake off some tension, and sit for a few minutes).  It was a wonderful thing to step onto that heated bus, peel off my hat and coat and pull out my book to get lost in its pages. 

Jennifer, student

Causing a Bus Ruckus

        Yep, I caused a ruckus on the bus yesterday.  I travel to Seattle at least twice a week via the 594 for an internship in the art department of Anthropologie.  At first, the hour commute was taking a toll on my agenda to get stuff done (which consists of too many side projects; not enough homework), but I have come to find the commute to be a great time to work on projects.  At work, I am around so many creative people and we work on some pretty outlandish art installations so I usually leave the store fully inspired.  When I board the 594, I love opening my sewing bag and pulling out the new shirt I am decking out with knotted fabric or scarf I am embroidering.  So, back to the ruckus.  My newest bustime project is hand-sewing lace decor to a plain grey t-shirt.  While the bumpiness of the busride can become a nuisance, I usually work around it, but this time it got the best of me.   The bus hit a bump and sent my thread flying under the seat across the aisle.  I kindly asked the woman next to me if she could reach under and grab it for me, and while she was nice enough to help, the bus hit another bump mid-reach.  The end of the thread stuck under her seat, but the spool rolled towards the front of the bus, then towards the back, and all around, creating a spidersweb of thread wound around the bus.  By this time, people had taken notice.  The man sitting behind me was directing everyone reaching for the spool as it rolled around the bus floor.  Finally, after a few minutes of quite the thread ruckus, the spool rolled right back to my seat and I reached down and cut it from the tangled web it had created.  I thanked everyone who had tried to catch the runaway thread spool and let some people who were still looking for it know that it returned home safely.  While I still plan on using my bustime to work on projects, I think I am going to make my next project a harness of all my tools so I don't become the bus disturbance again.

Paige, student