Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
My wife accuses me of seeing likenesses where they don’t exist. Which has led me to question my own (uncanny) ability to see likenesses all over the place. I call them “bizarro,” which gets me off the hook as I can point to vague similarities instead.
But @thedrun‘s photo up there is 100 percent, spot-on, so incredibly like what we all think it is, you have to wonder …
Obama on the 38?! Or Fred Armisen? Hmm
Yes, @thedrun, you are right.
Rider Jon S. wrote us yesterday:
I just wanted to note that these guys are at it again. They were on the 38 Bus outbound. They got on while it was on Market Street and jumped off at Union Square when I started mouthing off to one of the heavies and went for my phone to call the police.
Good on you, Jon. Last time we posted about this, a rider told us that this game is one of the oldest tricks in the scammers’ handbook, so don’t fall for it!
Seen something that affects your daily ride? Let us know.
Photo by frankfarm
Ramona reports from the 38-Geary …
Odd people you run into on Muni —
When first getting on the bus, people would smile at him and nod, but then realize he was trying to bring them into his non-stop, illogical, stream-of-consciousness conversation. So they would look away quickly and suddenly get very interested in texting, or what was going on out on the street, or looking for something in their bags. Still, he seemed harmless, though a little unpredictable and overly intrusive.
Near the end of the route, he put his cards away and turned his attention to a man sitting at the other end of the bench who, like everyone else, was trying his best not to get involved in the free-wheeling (if one-sided) conversation.
“So,” he said to the man, “are you one of the resident… Chinese?”
When the man continued to ignore him, he asked, “What, no habla español?!”
(Still no response.)
A couple of minutes later he said to no one in particular, “You know, on Judgment Day, God is going to call your name in Spanish, and all you’ll have to say is, ‘No habla español!'”
Laughing and apparently feeling pleased with his own wit, he exited the bus.
Uh, here’s hoping this man is completely wrong about the end of times.
“38 Geary, 6 a.m.: I see this guy on the bus every morning when I used to work at a coffee shop. He’d always sit in the front of the bus, and when I would get on, I would sometimes thumble a bit because I never had an easy time getting my dollar bill to fit into the fare machine. Anyway, this guy would watch me, close his eyes, and shake his head, because clearly I was the biggest moron who everwalked the earth.”
I love his animation and storytelling, so I highly recommend checking out his short clip above. The Rumpus also did an excellent interview with Yilmaz last year.
Hat tip: Milk and Cookies.
Samantha passes along a pretty frightening find:
Saw these scattered at the 38 Geary stop at Powell and Geary.
Who in their right mind would discard these gold nuggets so willy-nilly?
In his effort to ride all the Muni lines in the city, Gabriel Wheeler of Destination Nowhere asked his friend Audra Wolfmannn to come for a ride on the 38-Geary. Instead, her alter ego Odessa Lil showed up.
Odessa Lil is MC for hire. She hosts many a burlesque show, but does not limit herself to one calling. She will do weddings, divorces , Bar Mitzvahs, funerals, just ask!
Our first stop was Trader Sams where we indulged in some delicious cocktails. Odessa Lil kindly posed for photos with the bar’s patrons, the bartender, and the pinball machine.
Later we found ourselves at the old Transbay Terminal (R.I.P.). It was very sullen and full of homeless residents. It had an air of danger so we did not linger too long, but I snapped some good shots without any incident.
We ended our day at Union Square where Odessa Lil put her riding crop to good use by spanking some willing tourists and posing for more photos. It was an 8-hour adventure I’ll never forget.
I have done about 27 or so of these rides and each one is just as exciting as the last. But so far Odessa Lil has been the most colorful. Check my blog for new updates as I continue to explore San Francisco via Muni.
Thanks, Gabriel!
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