Category: From MD Editors

The smallest gestures go a long way

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San Francisco - BART
Photo by Flickr user sebastiansuk.de // pitlanepics.de

BART rider Anya has this diary to share:

So BART had some serious rush-hour delays this morning. So when I got to Civic Center there was a mass of people waiting, already looking frustrated. The Pittsburg/Bay Point train pulls up LOADED with people. Naturally, when the door opens, it’s a typical battle to wrestle yourself into the train. Everyone is even more agitated and pissed.

Once we get to Powell, before the doors open, the train conductor says something to the extent of “sorry to have to start your day this way folks but look on the bright side — it’s a beautiful day outside. Forget about us and have a good rest of your day.” Everyone immediately lit up in smiles (as jam-packed as we were) and a few people chuckled.

Moral of the story: even the smallest gesture goes a long way on days like that. Thank you to that train conductor for being so positive! And to the other drivers — please try to stay positive and cheerful on the crappy days…. your words go a long way to make everyone else snap out of their angry commuter modes.

Got a BART story to share? Do it here at BART Diaries.

Category: BART, From MD Editors Tags: ,

Good Cheer Delivered at Fillmore and O’Farrell

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Photo by prawnpie

100 Muni StoriesEd. Note: This is the 1,000th post on Muni Diaries! Hooray! We’re working on a brand-new look for the site in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! And keep sending us your stories, photos, videos, and comments, because your life on Muni makes the site what it is. Now, without further interruption, here’s Rachel’s story.

I was on an early morning 22-Fillmore, the same bus and same driver I have most days. This driver is usually quiet and serious, barely acknowledging passengers (regulars and otherwise). This guy is infamous for not stopping at the Fillmore and Geary stop to take on passengers, and all the regulars would tell you the same thing, as we’ve all been passed by at least once or twice.

Our bus stopped at O’Farrell and a woman got on. She had several bags with her, and she handed them one by one to the driver. Then she leaned over the plexiglass partition and gave him a hug and a kiss.

“You have a good day now,” she told him.

“All right, you too, see you later,” he replied.

She got off the bus and stood on the sidewalk, waved to him, then crossed the street.

I don’t know what was in the bags but I like to think they were full of snacks for him to enjoy throughout the day, and some bottles of water or juice, and a thermos of coffee, maybe some magazines or the newspaper for him to read on his break. I hope the visit by his wife (or girlfriend) made his day.

Category: 100 Muni Stories, From MD Editors, Story Archive Tags:

Photographer Kristen Holden: Love Stories on Muni

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Photographer, poet, and model Kristen Holden‘s pictures of Muni riders have caught our eye for a while. We found her on Flickr as “SFLoveStory” and tracked her down to find out what makes Muni such a great subject. Holden grew up in Chicago and has lived in San Francisco for almost seven years. She lives in Russian Hill with her musician boyfriend and their “talentless dog.”

What is it about Muni that inspires you to take photos there?

This simple answer is: I ride a lot and I shoot my surroundings more than I do anything else. But what makes Muni rife for photographic capture is that the exterior environment is always changing around the same structure or, like, bones of the scene. There are endless characters to make up stories about.

What’s it like taking pictures on Muni?

I think people generally assume I’m a tourist. Once in a while someone will ask me about my camera and why I shoot film (I’m currently shooting with a second-hand Canon EOS Elan II SLR with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens.)

Got a favorite Muni line?

I ride the 45 and 30 to get from Russian Hill, where I live, to downtown and vice versa. I take the 47 and 49 quite a bit. Oh, and I’m one of those weird people who actually rides the 19…it gets the closest to the film-processing center I go to in SoMa. I love the cable cars and streetcars too. The mint-green colored streetcar from Brooklyn (Car 1059?) is my favorite.

You can see more of Holden’s photographs on her website, Kristen-Holden.com.

Category: From MD Editors, Photos, Story Archive Tags: , , , , ,

Mormons in the Mission via Muni

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Fly Away on the Bus of My Dreams
Photo by Thomas Hawk

Ed. note: Okay, lately in the land of Muni news, things really suck, for Muni, for the victims and their friends and family, maybe for you… But we’re a story-telling site after all, and we received this charming story from Muni rider Daishin on Wednesday just before the tragic accident at Mission and Beale. It perfectly encapsulates why the show here must go on. See for yourself.

Occasionally I’m forced to take the 14 into La Mission. The last time I did this BART was having problems from Powell Station to 24th Street so I hopped a 14. At the second stop at Mission and 8th Street a gaggle of Mormon Missionaries boarded the bus. They were fresh-faced boys looking a little out of place with their dark suits, white shirts and ties. They were a little noisy for Mormon kids, laughing and poking each other. Three lovely transgendered ladies dressed to the nines got onto the bus right behind them. For a second I was concerned that maybe there would be some altercation between the two groups, being that the Mormons had just put so much support behind Proposition 8. But instead the trannies plopped themselves down in the middle of the Mormon boys, and started talking with them. Soon the level of the conversation was quite loud and humorous. They were exchanging ipod tunes lists, discussing fashion and make-up secrets. The trannies got off at 16th and Mission said goodbye and hugged all the Mormon boys.

I have to say it was one of the most interesting interactions I’ve experienced on Muni. I guess this is what people mean when they say there’s a lot of diversity in San Francisco.

Got a slice-of-San-Francisco-life story to tell? Tell it here.

Category: From MD Editors, Funny: Muni LOLs, Story Archive Tags:

Meet Our Resident Poet

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Poet Silvi from The Poetry Store sent me this beautiful poem about chance meetings on Muni. I’m undeniably charmed. Look at what she drew on the back of the poem:

Want your very own poem or one for the bus cutie who caught your eye? The Poetry Store will be at Muni Diaries Live! Breaking It Down this Friday so you can get your own custom-made poem written on the fly! Look for Silvi, stationed with her typewriter, at the Make-Out Room: “in three minutes or less, you will have your poem–as spontaneous as combustion and as original as bergamot and balsamic on your ice cream.”

I’m totally sold. You?

Category: From MD Editors, Story Archive
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