...a Greyhound bus station that attracts every scumbag within a 5 mile radius?
I wanted to catch an Astros game before the season ended. I didn't want to make the 200+ mile drive by myself, so I figured I'd take the bus.
The ride from Corpus was long but uneventful. The ride back was a different story. The ride itself wasn't bad. It was the 3 hour wait at the bus depot that turned my stomach. Crackheads, panhandlers, hustlers and the just plan delusional all could be found hanging out in front of Houston's Greyhound station.
They neighborhood around the station didn't look all that bad other than a high rise building across the street that looked to be abandoned.
The station itself was a mini fortress surrounding the area where the buses loaded and unloaded. There were 2 separate waiting areas. One for ticketed passengers and one for everybody else. How they let some of these people who had no intention of riding the bus or waiting for someone who did slither in and out of this area with little to no challenge from "security" is beyond me. At one point, a guard did come out and shoe everyone that was loitering out front, but that only lasted for a couple of minutes and the were right back.
Houston is a beautiful city. A little big for my liking, but beautiful none the less. It's a shame folks traveling by Greyhound bus have this garbage as a first impression. Then again, Greyhound doesn't actually attract the cream of the traveling public. I could have flown, but why? The stadium was less than 2 miles from the station.
It's a shame. It looks like Greyhound actually invested some money in that facility, but unless they do something to clear out the vagrants, the place will be a slum in 10 years or less.
Solution... maybe Greyhound should require ID for all travelers. Anyone under 18 would have to have a parent or guardian purchase the minor's ticket. God knows you need ID to fly. I think you also need ID to take the train these days.
By securing passenger ID, now you can start a database of those who have been kicked off the bus for bad to criminal behavior and suspend the trouble makers from future travel.
When I was a kid, I rode the bus frequently from Kansas City to see my grandma in Nebraska. These days, you don't dare sent a pre-teen alone. Old folks are also afraid to "Go Greyhound."
Greyhound has a golden opportunity. Flying is becoming more and more of a pain in the ass. Amtrak is nice, but it too has it's drawbacks. If managed correctly, Greyhound could become the preferred means of travel for shorter distance interstate trips.
Someone just needs to take out the garbage.
Before you go any further, read this...
Dictionary.com defines a redneck as:
1. an uneducated white farm laborer, esp. from the South.
2. a bigot or reactionary, esp. from the rural working class.
It goes on to say that redneck is A slang term, usually for a rural white southerner who is politically conservative, racist, and a religious fundamentalist. This term is generally considered offensive. It originated in reference to agricultural workers, alluding to how the back of a person's neck will be burned by the sun if he works long hours in the fields.
While I can't say all that fits me to a tee, a lot of it is pretty damn close.
You see, I lost both my parents before I turned 12 years old. I bounced around in a couple of foster homes before moving in with my uncle when I tuned 15. By age 17, I was on my own. I dropped out of school half way through 11th grade so I could go to work full time. Three months after my 18th birthday, I got behind the wheel of a cab for the first time.
I've learned more about life in 28 years in a hack than any philosopher ever could know. I've had multi-million dollar businessmen, celebrities and pro athletes as well as crack whores, drug dealers and murderers in my cab. I refuse to be an airport jockey or one of those guys that only stages at the hotels, so unfortunately, I have to deal with more of the bottom feeders of life than I do the upper crust.
It is the dealings that I've had the bad apples that has made me what I am today...
The Redneck Cabbie.
You see, to escape the madness of the city streets, my mind drifts off (not while I'm driving) to a quiet country town. A place where everyone knows everyone, and a man's handshake is as binding a contract as a person needs. A place where friends gather to down a couple of cold ones and listen to music that you can actually understand the words.
A place where young men don't walk around with their pants falling down over their ass, and young ladies don't have to dress like sluts to draw a man's attention.
I think you get the picture. I know, boring as whale shit to most city folks. I'd be living in a town just like that if it weren't for the fact that there's just not much demand for my line of work in most small towns.
This blog will reflect these feelings. If I seem a little bitter now and then, its just because that wonderful little town is nowhere in my near future, and because the life expectancy of someone in my line of work doesn't extend much past retirement age, all I can do is dream about it.
1. an uneducated white farm laborer, esp. from the South.
2. a bigot or reactionary, esp. from the rural working class.
It goes on to say that redneck is A slang term, usually for a rural white southerner who is politically conservative, racist, and a religious fundamentalist. This term is generally considered offensive. It originated in reference to agricultural workers, alluding to how the back of a person's neck will be burned by the sun if he works long hours in the fields.
While I can't say all that fits me to a tee, a lot of it is pretty damn close.
You see, I lost both my parents before I turned 12 years old. I bounced around in a couple of foster homes before moving in with my uncle when I tuned 15. By age 17, I was on my own. I dropped out of school half way through 11th grade so I could go to work full time. Three months after my 18th birthday, I got behind the wheel of a cab for the first time.
I've learned more about life in 28 years in a hack than any philosopher ever could know. I've had multi-million dollar businessmen, celebrities and pro athletes as well as crack whores, drug dealers and murderers in my cab. I refuse to be an airport jockey or one of those guys that only stages at the hotels, so unfortunately, I have to deal with more of the bottom feeders of life than I do the upper crust.
It is the dealings that I've had the bad apples that has made me what I am today...
The Redneck Cabbie.
You see, to escape the madness of the city streets, my mind drifts off (not while I'm driving) to a quiet country town. A place where everyone knows everyone, and a man's handshake is as binding a contract as a person needs. A place where friends gather to down a couple of cold ones and listen to music that you can actually understand the words.
A place where young men don't walk around with their pants falling down over their ass, and young ladies don't have to dress like sluts to draw a man's attention.
I think you get the picture. I know, boring as whale shit to most city folks. I'd be living in a town just like that if it weren't for the fact that there's just not much demand for my line of work in most small towns.
This blog will reflect these feelings. If I seem a little bitter now and then, its just because that wonderful little town is nowhere in my near future, and because the life expectancy of someone in my line of work doesn't extend much past retirement age, all I can do is dream about it.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment