By 'bus

My maternal Uncle Harold was a cobbler. But during the later 1950’s, mending shoes became a precarious way of making a living.

So Uncle Harold left his Last , and signed on to be a ‘bus conductor (ticket seller). This was not his forte. He was slow and fairly inept.

As luck would have it, he “conducted” on a ‘bus route which I took to school. I could hardly ignore him. So I greeted him “hello Uncle Harold”

But now that my school-mates knew his name, they teased him mercilessly as “Harold”. I would sink into my seat in embarrassment.

Luckily the Bristol Omnibus Company recognised his true skills, and moved him to the Easton Road ‘bus depot where he repaired the leather straps and pouches which all conductors used.

In 2004 I flew from Boston to London to visit with my brother Martyn, his wife Wendy, and their children Laura (then aged 16) and Sam (then aged 7). I took a ‘bus from London to Bristol, and even as I travelled I thought “I must take Sam to the Bristol Museum”.

Arriving in Bristol, Martyn. Laura and Sam met me at the ‘bus station. :Laura was the driver, Martyn sat to her left, and Sam & I took the back seat in the family car. No sooner had we left the ‘bus station, when Sam asked me if I would take him to the Bristol Museum!

So we struck a deal. And I took him there by ‘bus. It was his first time ever on a ‘bus. It was a double decker, and we sat upstairs on the very front seats. Such an adventure.


In needed to take a Sarasota ‘bus today. It’s a County service run under the strange name of SCAT (Sarasota County Area Transit) Arriving at the ‘bus depot I immediately met some of my friends from “Res House” - Stacey, he boyfriend Ken, and Ramon.

Indigent folks in Sarasota can get a monthly ‘bus pass for a minimal $2.

I boarded ‘bus #6. I noted three things:

First, that our ‘buses are equipped with easily operated loading platforms which enable wheel chair bound citizens to get on or off the “bus with comparative ease.

Second, that the ‘buses have bicycle racks, super for folks whose journeys need ‘bus and bike.

Third, that apart from two “apparent” students, I was the only white male on this ‘bus.

Jmp

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