Again, we bring you, the bus ride... from HELL

I continue to do my part for the environment, (B___S___, I am trying to save money) by taking the bus a few days a week. Tonight the trip on the 212 was an adventure. There was a guy on his cell phone talking very loudly, over the noise of the engine, and he kept asking the person what stop he should look for. First it was Venice, then Washington, then Adams. After that, a guy got on who hangs around Centinella and La Brea. He pushed past everyone to the back of the bus. Followed by a smell that punched everyone in the jaw. It smelled at first like 4 cat litter boxes, then it morphed into a foul stench that was a cross between body odor from a prison to the sewage smell from the Hyperion Treatment Plant in El Segundo. It was murder on the noses most foul. I think a woman opened a bottle of perfume to try to combat the smells. The perfume ran away, beaten to a pulp. Then some guys opened every window on the bus hoping the stench would leave. No good. People almost passed out. I recalled an old Spartan trick used against the Persians. The trick is to breathe through your mouth, not your nose, then you smell the odors. It worked and I made to my stop without blacking out. Another ride on the bus from HELL, the 212 in Los Angeles.

the bus

I have taken the bus to work a few times now in the last two weeks. The 212 runs up and down La Brea Blvd in Los Angeles. It is, to say the least, the bus ride from HELL. If you want to commit suicide, take the 212 first, and you will have a good reason at least to slit your wrists. The bus is always crowded. Why the MTA does not run this line every fifteen minutes for 24 hours is beyond me. The only way to MAKE people buy cars is to show them how fruitless it is to take the buses. And this bus is the poster child for frustration in Los Angeles. I used to take the bus back in the early 80s, and now I see why I moved to the Valley to be close to my job, so I would not have to ride the 212. It is always crowded, oh, did I already say that? I sit in the back of the bus, because last week I sat in the seat right behind the rear exit door. And a guy stood in the rear exit well, all the way from Sunset down to Slauson Blvd. So I could not see anything except this guy's back. So I sit in the back seat, the last seat on top of the engine. And the trade off is that the smells are like being in a toilet in the bowery AND the rest room of a stadium that is holding an event with only one rest room open and no toilet paper. On top of that, the old Bob Newhart routine of how to train a bus driver is real, and the proof is the 212 line. Always stop short so riders who are standing will fall down. And those who are sitting will hit their heads on the seats in front of them. And make sure they miss all the lights, sit through all the lights at least 4 cycles. And the patrons always stand in the middle of the buses, never move to the rear like the driver tells them to. This is the first of a few posts that will deal with Los Angeles MTA..... More to come.... Later....

Santa Monica Pier

Here are some shots of the Santa Monica Pier, taken back in..... well, long time ago.

Back in the day...

Not really Los Angeles, but it'll do. The top picture is from underneath William Penn's statue atop Philadelphia' City Hall. I took this from the observation deck back in the day. The next picture is from Valley Green, taken in the winter time, as some of the water drips down the hillside.

City Hall

Here's City Hall in Philadelphia, a shot I took back in the day....

More junk

A lonely mattress, waiting for someone to take it home.

A lonely couch, just waiting for a nice warm place to call home.

A chair, with a drunken trashcan for a friend. Always happens, doesn't it? You tell your friends not to drink too much, and look what happens.

And another good use of an old couch...

Here is a guy sleeping it off in the middle of the day, so the couch does not go to waste. He must feel safe.
The chair and mattresses just appeared on this corner one day, I don't think the people who live here put this stuff out. I think somebody just did a drive by and left it. Pigs I tell you!

Furniture on Olympic Blvd

Saw this stuff on Olympic Blvd west of La Brea. Guess somebody got a new set and decided to toss this one, to the curb, and wait for "someone" to come and get it. Too bad the guys that delivered the new set couldn't take it away. Oh well.