More Craziness on Public Transit

As much as I can, I try to avoid grocery shopping on the weekends. The stores are always crowded and it takes twice as long to get everything because you have to dodge people. So it might seem rather crazy that I decided to venture out to the Superstore today. What makes it even crazier, is the fact that it was their "save the tax" day to boot. I haven't been to Superstore in a very long time and I needed to stock up on a few things so I decided to brave the place today.

The produce section was a zoo, but it always seems to be that way. The rest of the store wasn't too bad. There was a lady giving our cheese samples who really loved my necklace so I stopped and chatted with her for a bit. I got a cheese sample and 2 coupons so it was worth it. LOL. I found almost everything I was looking for so I was happy.

The checkouts baffled me a bit. They have a lot of cashes, plus some self serve ones. Now for reasons I can't explain, the cashes at the far end of the store all had line ups of 3-4 people at them. The ones closer to the exit, only had 1-2 people at them, and no they weren't express lanes. I guess some people just don't pay attention. So I checked out in record time.

Now, the most entertaining part of my trip occurred on the bus on my way home. It was one of our smaller buses that came. There was already someone at the front with an electric and a man in a wheelchair got on at  the stop I was getting on at. There were 5 of us waiting for the bus and we all let the man in the wheelchair go first. Well, he got on but didn't pull the chair all the way in so he was actually on a diagonal and was blocking the aisle. As a result, the 5 of us all had to do a little dance and get created to get past him and the other guy in the wheelchair in order to get back to the seats on the bus. At this point, the man in the electric chair, who was already on the bus, points out to man #2 that he's not pulled in right and it blocking the aisle. I will point out at this point that if you have a manual wheelchair on the bus (like man #2 did), you're supposed to out the seats up (which he did), pull completely into the area with your back to the driver (he kind of did) and secure yourself with the seat belt provided (which he didn't do). He opted to hold on to the age of the flipped up seat for dear life instead. So, as we leave the stop, man #1 is still telling man #2 to straighten his chair out, especially since man #1 is getting off in 2 stops and can't get his wheel chair off is man #2 doesn't straighten out his chair and stop blocking the exit. Man #2 claims that he can't straighten out. Man #1 is growing more and more agitated. Man #2 is still clinging to the seat for dear life. The bus driver is clearly ignoring all of it. Technically, the bus driver should have made man #2 properly get into position since blocking the aisle is a safety hazard.

Anyhow, we get to man #1's stop and by some miracle, man #2 manages to pull his chair further in, almost creating enough room for man #1 to get out. Almost. Man#1 first drives into the padded post next to him and then hits the wall by the driver before finally being able to manoeuvre enough to get to the ramp to get off the bus. But not before having some final not nice words to share with man #2. Man #2 did seem to have something wrong with him (mentally) but it might also have been alcohol related as he came flying out of the LCBO just before catching the bus (I'd previously seen him in the Superstore too). But it really annoyed me that the bus driver just ignored the whole thing and it was happening right behind him. The man sitting in the seat facing man# 2 ignored the whole thing as well.

I guess helping your fellow man really has gone out the window. Maybe everyone's just afraid involved. No good deed goes unpunished so they say. I can remember when the bus drivers used to help people with strollers, wheelchairs, crutches etc... or make sure that the elderly had found seats before taking off but not so much anymore. Just like the people who ride the bus and don't seem to understand the concept of giving up your seat at the front to someone who's older than you or who has a disability and can't stand on the bus or giving up your seat to a woman who's clearly pregnant. If you're not capable of behaving in a proper, respectful and courteous manner when in public, then perhaps those people shouldn't go out in public. Or maybe it's a matter of parents not teaching good manners and respect to their children anymore.

Good Night.

Sarah