Bus Hopping

Regular readers, as opposed to the irregular ones and you know who you are, know that for the past few months I've been driving Vets around, and have come to learn a little bit about buses and those that use them. There are the groupies that will try to board a particular drivers bus and ride with him all day. There are those just wishing to spend some time off their feet and in air conditioning. There are the Asians who cannot tell one type of bus from another and will run smack into the side of a moving vehicle to get the drivers attention. There are the west Indians who will try and force themselves on because they KNOW that you MUST take them to where they wish to go and the hell with the fact that you aren't driving a city bus. There are the black youth gangs, the spanish youth gangs, and the jock youth gangs that tolerate all nationalities as long as one is a sports star on campus. Many will try to beg, steal, or bargain away the fare, even if there is no fare. Mothers will tell you that the strapping 6-footer they've brought on board is 9 years old. Other mothers will say that a child is retarded and need ride free. Women will dress animals up in babies clothing and try sneaking them aboard in a carriage or stroller. Others will tell you that the gerbil peeking out from their pocket is a registered service animal. Some obvious 40 yr olds will claim to be over 55 to get the Senior Citizen discount. Counterfeit copies of monthly bus passes go for ten dollars, saving the purchaser twenty dollars. Since ALL bus drivers are told that it is far better to board a drunk then let him drive his car into a sidewalk full of Nuns, he gets to ride free and there are nights, and even some days, when the floor is awash with vomit.

And on, and on.

So do I think it unusual that 2 middle-eastern types would wander aboard a schoolbus and ask for a ride?

No. Stranger things happen every hour of every day on all sorts of buses in all sorts of cities. But, the last 5000 or so terrorist attacks in the world have been perpetrated by moslems, so any sane person wishes to be certain that the people who would kill us just because we're us, do not get the chance to do so. These two schleps were most likely just trying to get over, and if they were black or spanish, or white trash, it'd be a small fine for the effort then on to something else.

I'm reasonable, and that means no jumping to conclusions, and no jumping to conclusions means one isn't Republican enough, or conservative enough, and the fact that I've sent many of my country's enemy's to their deity and would do so again in a heartbeat means nothing. Magicians use flash paper, some "writers" use flash-blogging, and for the same reason. To startle the rubes into paying attention. With the hope they'll soon pay cash.

But this is, and will forever remain, a no flash zone. We'll screw up for certain, but not for attention.

So then. The bail for the 2 Saudi men was revoked when one change of story lead to another, and the authorities became suspicious that all might not be as harmless as they portrayed their bus hopping to be. Not that ALL bus hoppers everywhere DON'T have a pocketfull of story's, but once burnt, twice shy. I am glad that the police decided to detain these men for further investigation. If all turns out to be well, then thats a GOOD ending. And if all turns out not so well, then that's a good ending too, as we've foiled yet another attack upon the innocent.