Comments on: Try to be a man of the people, try to keep hope alive, but I’ve got fuel to burn, and roads to drive http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/ Website of Joshua McGee Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:51:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Joshua <i>(Site Owner)</i> http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41760 Joshua (Site Owner) Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:16:30 +0000 http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41760 <p> Is 65 years too soon for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March" rel="nofollow">that joke</a>? God, maybe. Yikes. Maybe I'm oversensitive. </p> <p> It will be noted that on the Bataan Death March you were more likely to have your throat cut if you were walking, not riding. Somewhat the inverse in the knife fight case… </p> Is 65 years too soon for that joke?  God, maybe.  Yikes.  Maybe I’m oversensitive.

It will be noted that on the Bataan Death March you were more likely to have your throat cut if you were walking, not riding.  Somewhat the inverse in the knife fight case…

]]> By: Bob Mike http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41753 Bob Mike Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:37:55 +0000 http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41753 I had totally forgotten about that. Also, a quick note on that walk: Although I regularly walk distances several times greater than the distances that we walked that summer, it should be kept in mind that these are <B>San Gabriel Valley in the Summer</B> distances. Each trip to the mall and back was like a gawddamn Batan Death March. I had totally forgotten about that. Also, a quick note on that walk: Although I regularly walk distances several times greater than the distances that we walked that summer, it should be kept in mind that these are San Gabriel Valley in the Summer distances. Each trip to the mall and back was like a gawddamn Batan Death March.

]]> By: Joshua <i>(Site Owner)</i> http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41752 Joshua (Site Owner) Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:14:44 +0000 http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41752 <p> Remember that summer (1995?) when we switched from riding the bus to the Santa Anita Mall to walking all the way there, a distance of about three miles? Do you remember what precipitated it? A <i>knife fight</i> (which, I suppose, could be called a form of debate) between two women on the bus. </p> <p> [inside joke] Well, it was the knife fight, and the fact that my Doc Martens were made for walkin'. [/inside joke] </p> Remember that summer (1995?) when we switched from riding the bus to the Santa Anita Mall to walking all the way there, a distance of about three miles?  Do you remember what precipitated it?  A knife fight (which, I suppose, could be called a form of debate) between two women on the bus.

[inside joke] Well, it was the knife fight, and the fact that my Doc Martens were made for walkin’. [/inside joke]

]]> By: Bob Mike http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41747 Bob Mike Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:29:09 +0000 http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41747 I’ve been riding public transportation in the Los Angeles area for about a decade now, and it’s always been a strange mixture of Beverly Hills and Mogadishu. Yeah, the things that you’ve seen happen regularly, but the chaos of so many clearly incompatible human beings sharing a cramped mobile area is not without its charms. Having said that, you are in a public space, and so the same ground rules that you’d use to survive in any other public space apply to mass transit. There’s never a time when <B>REMAIN ALERT</B> isn’t a good rule for operating outside of your home. My bus experiences (collected over the years): I.) My then-girlfriend’s purse was accidentally left on the bus, and the crazy homeless man sitting behind us took off with it. We contacted the police, and they tracked him down and got the purse back, but not before he gobbled up her birth control pills. We all took a moment to reflect on whether or not the estrogen would give him “bitch tits”, and if so, how that would serve him in jail. II.) At 3 AM, the bus takes a hard turn, and the man sleeping at the front of the bus falls out of his seat and badly splits his scalp on the seat across from him. Dazed and disoriented, he walks up and down the aisle, bleeding profusely on everything whilst attempting to figure out what has happened. The bus driver’s response to this situation is to simply kick the man off the bus, without any sort of assistance or documentation. Fortunately, the two other passengers (I was one of the two) on the bus manage to eventually convince the driver to drop the man off at an emergency room. Moments later, as the bus was pulling away, we saw him exit the ER, still bleeding, and walk down the street. III.) <B>BUS DEBATES!</B> The spirit of the Forum lives! There are few pleasures more guilty than the joy that I take in listening to the loud, angry claims of two equally obnoxious and misinformed individuals, especially if issues of race are in question. Featuring thrills, spills, chills and LAFFS! <I>Rabid Zionist</I> vs <I>Holocaust Denier</I>! <I>Black Guy Who Thinks That It’s Racist That He’s Being Charged the Same Fare as Everyone Else</I> vs <I>White Guy Who Believes That Racism No Longer Exists</I>! <I>Korean Jesus Freak</I> vs <I>The Entire World</I>! I paid a full $1.25 fare for my seat, but I <B>only used the EDGE</B>! All of this wackiness aside, I honestly believe that using public transportation is safer than driving, and it’s certainly more cost effective and environmentally responsible (in the case of the distances that I have to travel, anyway). I can’t really say whether or not it’s right for you (it’s certainly NOT right for everyone, as many of my smaller female friends have had some EXCEPTIONALLY CREEPY experiences on a regular basis riding public transit), but it suits my needs quite sufficiently. I’ve been riding public transportation in the Los Angeles area for about a decade now, and it’s always been a strange mixture of Beverly Hills and Mogadishu. Yeah, the things that you’ve seen happen regularly, but the chaos of so many clearly incompatible human beings sharing a cramped mobile area is not without its charms. Having said that, you are in a public space, and so the same ground rules that you’d use to survive in any other public space apply to mass transit. There’s never a time when REMAIN ALERT isn’t a good rule for operating outside of your home.

My bus experiences (collected over the years):

I.) My then-girlfriend’s purse was accidentally left on the bus, and the crazy homeless man sitting behind us took off with it. We contacted the police, and they tracked him down and got the purse back, but not before he gobbled up her birth control pills. We all took a moment to reflect on whether or not the estrogen would give him “bitch tits”, and if so, how that would serve him in jail.

II.) At 3 AM, the bus takes a hard turn, and the man sleeping at the front of the bus falls out of his seat and badly splits his scalp on the seat across from him. Dazed and disoriented, he walks up and down the aisle, bleeding profusely on everything whilst attempting to figure out what has happened. The bus driver’s response to this situation is to simply kick the man off the bus, without any sort of assistance or documentation. Fortunately, the two other passengers (I was one of the two) on the bus manage to eventually convince the driver to drop the man off at an emergency room. Moments later, as the bus was pulling away, we saw him exit the ER, still bleeding, and walk down the street.

III.) BUS DEBATES! The spirit of the Forum lives! There are few pleasures more guilty than the joy that I take in listening to the loud, angry claims of two equally obnoxious and misinformed individuals, especially if issues of race are in question. Featuring thrills, spills, chills and LAFFS! Rabid Zionist vs Holocaust Denier! Black Guy Who Thinks That It’s Racist That He’s Being Charged the Same Fare as Everyone Else vs White Guy Who Believes That Racism No Longer Exists! Korean Jesus Freak vs The Entire World! I paid a full $1.25 fare for my seat, but I only used the EDGE!

All of this wackiness aside, I honestly believe that using public transportation is safer than driving, and it’s certainly more cost effective and environmentally responsible (in the case of the distances that I have to travel, anyway). I can’t really say whether or not it’s right for you (it’s certainly NOT right for everyone, as many of my smaller female friends have had some EXCEPTIONALLY CREEPY experiences on a regular basis riding public transit), but it suits my needs quite sufficiently.

]]> By: Petra http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41721 Petra Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:21:13 +0000 http://www.mcgees.org/2007/11/21/stolen-backpack/#comment-41721 Jenn's half right. It easily *could* have been stolen out of your car if you had parked it anywhere but a hidden parking lot in T.O. for the last 12 years. Skewed data. I'm so sorry, though. I don't think I'd have ever been comfortable enough to sleep on public transportation. Jenn’s half right.  It easily *could* have been stolen out of your car if you had parked it anywhere but a hidden parking lot in T.O. for the last 12 years.  Skewed data.

I’m so sorry, though.  I don’t think I’d have ever been comfortable enough to sleep on public transportation.

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