The Saturday Morning Post - Vol. 6 - Ridin' the Bus

This summer, just like last year, I've been taking to bus to work on occasion. This year I've succeeded in taking it more frequently as compared to last year, where I was averaging about one trip per week. This summer, with the exception of the week where the Fourth of July fell, I've taken the bus at least twice a week. I'm likely to increase this to 4 times per week beginning next week.

Why am I doing this? Because I believe it's the right thing to do; it's good for the environment. Last summer it was more of an issue of saving money, considering the price of gasoline. This year the prices are not as high, but I can still save a little bit of money - and some ware and tear on my car. But more importantly, it's one less car on the road creating pollution. I wish more people would join in the effort - it's really not that much of a sacrifice.

I want to share an observation from my travels: last week on the way home, I saw a lady and her daughter board the bus I was on. The first thing that caught my attention was that the little girl looked to be my daughter's age (8). The part that seemed out of place was where she and her mom were getting on the bus. This was a commercial / light industrial area where there are a lot of businesses and no residences. I also noticed that the mom was carrying a suitcase. That lead me to believe that the this was not a situation of a "bring your child to work" day. I figured that these two got on the wrong bus somewhere, and ended up here.

They asked the bus driver something, so I figured they were lost and were trying to find a route that would get them to where they wanted to go. They ended up getting off the bus at the same stop I did. I crossed the street one way to catch another bus; they crossed the street the other way. While I stood at my bus stop waiting, I could still see them diagonally across the busy intersection. I figured they were going to head to the bus stop nearest them and go the opposite direction I was heading. But then they crossed the street - walking in the same direction from where the bus we were just on came from. I felt bad for them, because they were clearly lost. I thought about my daughter, and how she might deal with this situation if she were in it. This little girl seemed to be oblivious that she was lost, and just kept walking beside her mom where ever her mom walked.

So out of sight they went, and I kept waiting for my bus. Some days I'm at this stop for just a couple of minutes; some days for several minutes. This particular route is not very consistent, and on this particular day I was waiting several minutes. So as I'm still waiting - here comes the mom with her suitcase in one hand and the little girl holding her other hand. But not to my stop, back towards the stop where I thought they were headed to begin with. So they walk in that direction, and walk right by that stop and all the people who were waiting there. Up the street they walked headed for who knows where. I thought to myself: I hope they find their way.

So how did this turn out? I didn't give it much more of a thought once my bus came along, until this week. On my ride home Wednesday, there they were again - mom, suitcase, little daughter, and another girl (presumably another daughter), who was a teenager that looked to be about my son's age (15). This time they were sitting at the bus stop that I go to when I start my trip home. My place of work is in an area where commercial and light industrial businesses are adjacent to a densely populated residential neighborhood, so it's not uncommon to see people at the bus stop who do not appear to be commuting workers. We all got on the same bus and down the street we went.

They got off at the same bus stop I did, and again crossed the street in the opposite direction that I did, and the three of them walked away - suitcase in hand - right past that other bus stop. Who knows where they were going, but at least they didn't look lost; they seemed to know exactly where they were headed. I'll look for them next week. I do see the same people quite a bit, especially on the morning commute. Well that's it for this week, see you next Saturday morning.

Time For An Update

Summer is nearly over, and there's been some changes around the household. Laura is no longer employed, but continues to seek a new job. This causes a financial challenge, as we were already on a tight budget. Laura has a little more time for her volunteer position as cheer coordinator for La Habra Pop Warner Football and Cheer leading.

Both Brady and Nina have celebrated birthdays recently, and have also started school. Brady, now 15 is in 10th grade, and Nina, now 8 is in 3rd grade. Both attend a tumbling class once a week, and both will soon begin religious education classes. Brady is less than a year away from receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

In other birthday news, we recently celebrated numerous family birthdays at my moms house with a good ol' BBQ & pool party. Those celebrating birthdays included my mom, both my kids, a niece and a nephew (who are also brother and sister), and another nephew. Absent, but not forgotten, were another niece who lives out of state, and an uncle who took ill and couldn't attend.

Nina is also cheer leading for La Habra Pop Warner. I enjoy going to the games to watch her cheer, but also enjoy watching the games themselves. Today, the boys beat their opponent 39-6. Before the cheer and football season began, the city held it's annual Corn Festival and parade. The cheer leaders and football players marched in the parade again. In order for me to get the prime front row spot on the parade route I got there at 4:30 a.m. I was surprised to see people already holding their own spots along the route.

The Corn Festival was fun as always, and this year we brought home more goldfish. Two actually, that Nina won, and one other that her friend Frankie won. Nina's fish died by the next morning, and Frankie's died a few days later. They were buried in our back yard.

The D.O.M. ride season begins next week. We will be attending, but the days of going out on Friday morning are long over. We don't want to take the kids out of school, and I'm too busy at work to take a vacation day right now.

I'm still taking the bus once a week to do my part to help the environment and save fuel. I'm pleased that gas prices are not as high as they were when I started riding. I have changed my route to 3 different bus lines compared to what I used to take. This way it's slightly less expensive, and I get to leave work 1/2 hour earlier. I have yet to see knitters on the bus, but I still keep looking for them just to be able to report that to LA and Diane.

As far as sports go, I played golf for the first time in one year. In August I played in a golf tournament along with my mom, uncle and cousin. This is an annual event named in memory of my dad. And for my spectator sports (the ones I watch, not participate in) the Angels are doing great by winning their division; the Bruins started off better than I expected by beating Tennessee, but got SPANKED today by BYU; and the Chargers lost their first one, but will hopefully win tomorrow against Denver.

Finally, my prayers go out to the families of the commuters who lost their lives yesterday in that horrible train wreck in the San Fernando Valley.

Commute to Work - Day Two

Well I stuck with my plan to take the bus at least once a week.  That's right, I didn't give up and go back to driving my car every day.  And depending on my schedule, I might even be able to ride the bus twice a week later in July and August.

This week's ride was almost out of necessity.  On the way home from work Wednesday, my car started overheating.  Steam was billowing out from under the hood.  I reduced my speed for the rest of the trip home, but when it started looking worse (the gauge kept climbing) I parked the car and walked the rest of the way home.  I was only two blocks away by then, so no biggie.

So this week my bus trip was on "Ride Share Thursday".  That's what I hear it called on TV and the radio.  Well the trip was noticeably more crowded on the first two buses.  Since my car had given me trouble the night before, I got a ride from my next-door-neighbor to my starting bus stop.  That first bus, a Norwalk Transit bus, was picking up more passengers along the way than what I observed last week.  I also rode it one stop further than last time because I discovered that the next bus stop is shaded.  Either of these two stops will allow me to catch my second bus.  I would rather sit in the shade than in the morning sun - especially on the way to work.   On the way home I wouldn't care.

When I got onto my second bus, a Metro bus, my intention was to purchase a one-day pass, which would allow me to ride the rest of the day on Metro without paying any more fares.  Well the machine that takes dollar bills was broken, so the driver allowed me to ride for free.  (Not just me, everyone who needed to purchase a fare using bills).  There were passengers with bus passes, and some who paid with coins, but they were not affected.  So when I got to my next bus stop, I just paid for a one-time fare for that last bus that would take me to work.  I figured that I would need to pay 3 one-time fares for the rest of my day, including the ride home.  That worked out to less money than if I were to have bought a one-day pass.

Things got even better on the way home, because the first bus I got on ended it's route before I reached my destination.  This was my oversight for getting onto this bus; I should have waited for the next one which continues further east on the same route.  The bus driver graciously gave me a one-day pass for free so that I could continue my trip when the next bus came along.  So my net cost on Metro yesterday was $2.50 (instead of $5.00).  I'll put that towards the cost of fixing my car, which my mechanic estimated today at just over $300.  Oh well, at least I feel better about doing the right thing by taking the bus.  Maybe I'll bring my camera on the next trip.

Dump the Pump

Did you Dump the Pump on Thursday? You know, leave your car behind and use some kind of public transportation to commute to and from work or school. Did you even know there was a public awareness program to do so? I didn't hear much about it before hand, and I watch the news daily. I heard more about it after the fact.

Well I don't feel guilty about not participating - because I took the bus to work on Wednesday! Yes, that's right. I've taken the first steps into a Greener world, and I survived. I feel good because it was the right thing to do, and I saved some money (on gas) and wear and tear on my car. I also avoided some stress on myself, and it really only cost me some extra time.

Just in case you don't believe me, here's my bus pass for Wednesday, June 18:

Allow me to share a little background. 1. Gas prices have been rising for a while now. 2. The company I work for has a Green Initiative, and has recently been promoting ways to conserve energy and otherwise do things that are good for the environment. 3. Gas prices have been rising for a while now. 4. One of my colleagues at work was tasked with something regarding the Green Initiative, and felt it was important that she also personally participate in public transportation. She provided me and other employees with information and feedback regarding her commute to work using the bus. 5. Gas prices have been rising for a while now. 6. I decided to give the bus a try.

Months ago, I commented on someones blog in response to their topic of taking the bus to work. I think I said that it wouldn't be feasible for me because I would have to take several buses and it would take a couple of hours. Well after researching numerous bus lines, routes and timetables; I found a route that worked for me. It only costs me $6.20 in bus fares, and takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to my office. The down size is that I have to leave a little earlier and arrive little later than normal, and there's the possibility that I will miss a connecting bus. That will further delay me.

The up side is that I am saving money. When I drive my car to work, it's 16 miles one way, and takes me 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic volume. My unofficial conservative estimate on gas mileage for my car is 15 miles to the gallon. At JUST $4.60 per gallon, I figure it's costing me at least $9.00 per day to drive to work, + wear and tear on my car, + stress from all the A-holes on the road.

So for now I'm saving about $3.00 per day, and I'm only getting home about a half hour later than normal. Not too bad, and worth it to me. More stories of future commutes to follow with pictures, of course. All my best, Danny.

Observations Of A Commuter

I've written before about my commute to and from work. I've talked about a favorite part on the way home, and I've bitched about the idiots who are out there breaking laws and putting my safety in danger.

This time I'm going to share three random unrelated observations that are probably meaningless to anyone reading. They all meant a little something to me.

Observation #1 - On the way to work I was taking my usual route (which I will not divulge because my wife Laura is convinced someone will read this and follow me). As I was driving in a residential area, but on a busy thoroughfare, I noticed a squirrel carefully making its way across the street - while walking on a cable suspended over the street. I swear it almost lost it's footing three or four times. I certainly didn't want to see it fall, and it didn't. But it actually slowed the cars in front of me. They must have seen it too.

Now I've seen several squirrels doing the exact same thing - going from telephone pole to telephone pole - in the backyards of the homes in my neighborhood. But I've never seen one cross directly over a busy street in the height of rush hour.

Observation #2 - On the way home from work - well actually on the way to my mom's house after work - I was on the freeway in traffic that was moving along at a slow pace, but moving just the same. In my rear-view mirror a long way back, I saw several police cars approaching with their lights on. I immediately thought Car Chase! What I couldn't see was whether or not there was a fleet of news and police helicopters following from sky. (There wasn't). Little by little the cars got closer and closer. On the one hand I wanted to have a front row seat for the ending of such a chase, but on the other hand I didn't want to be trapped in with no way to exit the freeway.

I was both relieved and disappointed when the cars finally reached my location on the crowded freeway only to see a police escort. Actually about 6 Sheriff cars escorting one unmarked Suburban with it's windows blacked out. It was probably some big-shot being escorted down to one of the County buildings in Norwalk. NBD.

Observation #3 - On the way to work as I was driving in a mostly commercial area, I was stopped at a red light at a very busy intersection. I noticed two people, a man and a woman, walking down the street who looked very much out of place, and very much like tourists. Now this particular part of town is heavy commercial and light industrial, with pockets of residential. There are no tourist attractions anywhere around. So they're walking down the street, and stop to talk to a man who is sitting in front of a small business. The man points in the direction that the people are walking, and they talk and they point and they talk and they point. Then they walk off, but before they do it's clear that the two thank the man. He acknowledges their words of gratitude. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside and think to myself: there are still a few good people in the world willing to help a stranger.

My Recent Morning Commute

This past Monday morning I was treated to a beautiful commute to work. I’ve posted before about my drive to and from work, and about some of the things I’ve encountered – some good, some bad. This post is about a good thing: the view.

I don’t have a scenic route to take to and from work. I drive through mostly residential neighborhoods, and a couple of commercial and light industrial areas. I don’t need to take the freeway. I pretty much live due east of where I work, so the sun is always behind me whether it’s early morning or late afternoon – except during certain times of the year when the sun hasn’t come up yet, or has already set for the day.

On one part of my drive – if it’s a clear day – I can see the buildings in downtown Los Angeles through my front windshield. At the same time I can see Saddleback Mountain in South Orange County in my rearview mirror. Most people would probably not even notice such a thing, but for me, it’s a treat. The key thing is that it must be a clear day. Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 6 and 7) were so crystal clear it was almost unbelievable. I couldn’t take a picture since I didn’t have my camera. And I was driving anyway. However, I’m able to share these pictures (off the web) to give you an idea:



This part of my commute is through the city of Whittier on Lambert Ave., and is approximately 20 miles from downtown L.A. It’s probably a little further to Saddleback Mountain in the opposite direction.

A little loser to my work I have to cross the San Gabriel River. This is the highest bridge I cross to and from work, and I’ve talked about this same bridge on an earlier post being one of my favorite parts of the drive home. Well the opposite view on the way to work is usually of the smoggy L.A. basin. I don’t often get to see the buildings in downtown L.A., but this past Mon. and Tue. morning, they were stunning.

From that same bridge, I can see the San Gabriel Mountains. During most of the summer the hazy smog obscures the view of the mountains so that they blend together like a big bland mass. But on Mon. and Tue. the view was so clear; the way the morning sun created shadows on the mountainside I could really see their depth. The commuters on the 210 freeway must have really been able to enjoy the view.


Closer still to my work, I’m always able to see airplanes turning in the sky as they make their final approach to LAX. Well Mon. and Tue. morning, the planes looked so clear they appeared to be closer than usual. And the way they were contrasting against the blue sky behind them was just spectacular. Here’s an idea of what that looked like:


The coolest thing for me was the near-full moon (it was full on Sun. 11-5-06). It was in view in the morning sky until about 8:30 a.m. and in contrast with the blue sky behind it. Here’s an idea of what that looked like:


Well I hope you’ve enjoyed my post this week. And I hope your commute is always pleasant, whether you travel to work or somewhere else. God Bless!

Even More on Commuting to and from Work

Back to venting about the idiots. By the way - I use the term "idiots" because I decided back when I launched this blog that I would not use profanity or vulger language. That's my long-winded way of saying that what I really think of these people is that they're F***ing A**h***s. Anyway, this post is 3rd in a series of my daily commute and some of the things I encounter. This post is more closely related to the 1st one, in that it describes other motorist and how they endanger my life by their poor driving. Mostly, it's how they irratate me by breaking the law, and how there never seems to be a police officer or highway patrol officer around to bust them.

So here's the run down of the things "idiots" do that I hate the most:
* Failing to pull over to the right when a fire truck/police car/ambulance approaches with their lights on.
* Failing to stop before the "Keep Clear" area in front of a fire station.
* Running a red light.
* Making a left turn after the red arrow appears (which is also running a red light).
* Using the far right side of the road as a lane, when it's actually not a lane.
* Using a right turn only lane (or exit freeway lane) until the last second, then pulling back in the thru traffic lanes.
* Crossing over the double yellow lines to get in the carpool lane on the freeway.
* Cutting through the Gore Point to exit or enter the freeway.
* People who tailgate.
* People who cut you off.
* People who drive sooooooo fast coming up from behind you on the freeway, zig-zagging between cars as they pass along.
* People who talk on their cell phones and drift into your lane.
* The driver next to me who doesn't yield to the pedestrain for whom I've yielded.
* The J-walker. Side note: I occassionally have to go to down town L.A. in the clothing district. Toooo many pedestrains. One FAT F*****g B***h took her lazy time waddling across the street and really pissed me off.
* There are more that I will add as I remember (or encounter) them.

More on Commuting to and from Work

How about some positive remarks about my drive home? . . . .

Regardless of how my workday went or how bad the commute home might be, there are two points along the way home that I really like. I'm only going to bore you with my favorite one today. It's on the Slauson Ave. bridge that spans the San Gabriel River. As I reach the top of this bridge the view is great! The bridge is fairly high because a railroad track is directly below the road and spanning the river at the same point. If you looked at this "intersection" on a map, you would see that it looks like the road and the tracks form an X over the river.

Back to the view. . . On some days, especially when it's clear, I can see the Whittier foothills eastward all the way to the horizon. To the north I can see the San Gabriel Mountains including Mount Baldy. Now this view looks best in the Spring after a period of rain when the Whittier foothills are green. The northward view of the San Gabriels looks best in the Winter after snow has fallen. The view doesn't look very good when it's smoggy or hazy, which is typical during the summer.

The San Gabriel River usually has some water in it. Most of the time it's barely flowing, but following a rain, it's full from bank to bank. The various flood control barriers hold back the water into large areas within the banks that look like stairs made of water. Sometimes one of the barriers is partially lowered allowing the water to flow resulting in a waterfall in the middle of the river.

Now mind you, I'm driving by and depending on traffic flow, I could see all of these sights in a matter of seconds. The fact that I've driven over this bridge more than a thousand times is why it's engraved into my memory.

I don't have a picture of this view to share. But even if I was able to take a picture from the top of the bridge, it wouldn't look as good on film as it does in my mind. Here's why: I can't block out the 605 Freeway that's right in line with my view of the foothills. There are also high tension power lines that obscure the view in both directions. I can "look" right through or beyond these "eyesores" when I'm driving by admiring my view, but I can't edit them out of a picture.

One more thing that I think is kind of cool. Occasionally I'll reach the bridge at the same time a train does. I can see one side of the train out of my driver's side window when I'm at the bottom of the bridge, then I drive up and over the bridge to see the other side of the train out of my passanger's window. In the winter when it's dark out and the interior of the train is illuminated, I can see the people on the train. Sometimes they're looking out of their windows at the cars on the bridge.

I'll share another favorite point on a future post. Until then, Drive Safely!

Commuting To and From Work

I thought I would write about something that I spend way too much time doing that is necessary but not that fun. Driving to and from work, which I’m sad to say takes up almost 2 hours of my precious time each and every weekday. Certainly other people have it worse than me, so I’m glad I’m not one of them.

I can easily write all kinds of stories about my daily commute and the things that have occurred to me or the things that I’ve witnessed. But I don’t want to be more boring than I already am. So I will just jot down a story from time to time about some aspect of my commute.

Today’s story will be about the idiots I encounter all the time. You know the ones I’m talking about, the ones that have nearly hit you because they can’t drive. Have you ever had someone pull out in traffic in front of you? I have, more than once. The worst situation is when the other motorist is heading the opposite direction you are and makes a left turn right in front of you. Sure it might be legal to do this, but it sure isn’t safe. Why should I have to slam on my brakes to avoid T-boning this idiot that couldn’t wait 10 seconds for me to pass? And of course, they didn’t look behind me to see there were no other cars coming.

Then there’s the idiot intending to travel the same direction as I am who pulls out from a driveway or makes a right turn in front of me from a side street. This is almost as dangerous as the opposite direction left turn. The most recent time this happened to me I wasn’t even commuting to work. I was on vacation pulling my 5th wheel trailer. Do you have any idea how many feet it takes to stop a fully loaded pick-up truck with trailer in tow? This idiot almost ended several people’s lives that day. Luckily for everyone involved, they accelerated fast enough and I braked fast enough.

Another version of this is when you’re on a freeway, and some idiot is trying to merge on. Now I always try to “time it” to let them in ahead of me, or accelerate so they can drop in behind me. It’s when the merging driver is oblivious to you that causes the problem.

The last situation I will vent about today is the idiot who is ahead of you traveling the same direction, and doesn’t realize he’s about to turn. This driver makes an abrupt right (or left) turn and you’re forced to slam on your brakes to avoid rear-ending him. Yeah, I know that one would probably go down as “your fault” by the good folks at the insurance company. My point is the other driver should be paying attention to where they intend on turning for the safety of the motorists (like me) behind them.

More not-so-interesting commute stories to follow in the future. Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest.