[PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
Fred Schneider
fwschneider at comcast.net
Sun Feb 4 19:08:03 EST 2007
I was once in a position where my boss and I were both having a lot
of fun but the people over us thought they were penalizing us ...
John Swindler knows the whole comical story. So for seven or eight
years we acted like we absolutely hated what we were doing so they
would leave us alone. In truth, we were having a blast. Dave and
I both loved to travel. We performance audited offices all over
Pennsylvania ... all 67 counties but it only consumed about 30
percent of our time. It also allowed a lot of free time to practice
German lessons and other useful things. I remember one evening we
were in Washington, Pennsylvania and I walked over to Dave's hotel
room and suggested that I hadn't had dinner in the Hotel Lafayette in
Marietta, Ohio in a long while. He remarked, "Why not." And off we
went. And when we got back to Harrisburg he proceeded to tell a
story about how I had kidnapped him and drove and drove and drove for
dinner. He saw the state signs change to West Virginia and I kept
driving. Then they changed to Ohio and Fred kept driving. Truth
was we both had a great dinner. (The man who owned the hotel at
that time was a local historian who had decorated the hotel in a
steamboat motif. My father once talked about dumping his younger
sister into a waste basket when they were children.)
And when we were stuck in Bradford, Pennsylvania, our favorite
restaurant was a little German place in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I
think he really blew that one up when he got back one time. (That
was a real event ... Dave had a condition requiring him to take water
pills to prevent him from congestive heart failure. The restaurant
owner saw him taking pills and asked what are they for. He said,
"Cuts down the water weight." She grabbed three of them without even
asking him and popped them in her mouth. Dave remarked to me in the
car on the way back to Bradford that about an hour later she would be
going to the bathroom like she had never gone in her entire life
before. One would be enough to do a number on her but three. Wow.
<VBFG>
I don't think he ever told his boss about the time I kidnapped him on
a Sunday or was it a Saturday and we went to Toronto on the weekend
in route to working in Erie on Tuesday. That would have sounded
fishy and they wouldn't have believed him.
Nor would his boss have believed the day we were in Sharon, Pa. and I
remarked at lunch time that it looked like a nice day to photograph
the trolleys in Shaker Heights in the evening rush hour. It was one
of those crystal clear October days with a sky like a blue screen
saver on the computer. About ten minutes to three that afternoon
Dave started packing up. He looked at me and said, "What are waiting
for? Close up shop. We're not going to get to Cleveland by 5:00 if
you keep working." I think we found someplace for dinner out in the
Shaker Heights area. And he seemed to enjoy riding an evening MU
PCC train on the Shaker Rapid going to the ball game.
Eventually I had to take a job that was work. That was fun too
because it was work that I liked. I was back again in labor
statistics. I guess I was lucky because I enjoyed almost all of my
working life. I feel very sorry for those who do not. I actually
even enjoyed most Fridays.
Garrison Keilor had a great line about statisticians last night ...
about the one that had his head in the oven and his feet on ice cubes
but average he was comfortable. Terrible isn't it. As bad as the
one fly who said to the other fly, "Your Dude's open."
Good night guys.
On Feb 4, 2007, at 4:20 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
> Yes, I have enjoyed "the journey" for many years now and hope to
> keep enjoying it for many more to come. Yes, a few of them (co-
> workers) do think I am insane for "driving a public transit bus"
> and enjoying it. Oh well, maybe they should get another job.
> Herb Brannon
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Sent: Sunday, February 4, 2007 1:17:25 AM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
>
>
> I was amused by your last paragraph, Herb. Far too many people have
> condemned themselves to jobs in which they are there just there for
> the
> paycheck, and can't wait until retirement. How much better to be
> able to
> enjoy the journey.
>
> For most on this list - we have made our choices, either by choice
> or by
> circumstances. But for the Joshua's and Derricks, find something
> you enjoy
> so that you will be able to enjoy the journey.
>
> I've been told that if you work at your hobby, you'll find another
> hobby.
> Not necessarily so.
>
> Of course there is a downside - many co-workers will be suspicious and
> wonder why you are not miserable like everyone else. (:>)
>
> John
>
>
>> From: Herb Brannon <hrbran at sbcglobal.net>
>> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
>> Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2007 16:48:44 -0800 (PST)
>>
>> If you ever come here you will soon see that I am "known" to the RTA
>> management and also to the operators/mechanics . I have been
>> known to be
>> called "The Watchdog." I tend to keep an "eye" on things. Also, as a
>> statement of fact, I am a good operator. No accidents, no passenger
>> complaints, get commendations from riders, etc. These days you
>> have to keep
>> an eye on them or they will steal you blind and sell you down the
>> river!
>> Also, this job, to me, is not work. It is fun! Today's managers
>> really hate
>> to see a member of the working class having fun and doing the job
>> correctly. Too bad for them..............they are the fools.
>> Herb Brannon
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Sent: Saturday, February 3, 2007 6:51:41 PM
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
>>
>>
>> Mein Gott. Herb is just as cynical as John and Fred. Watch the
>> business long enough and you get that way.
>>
>> On Feb 3, 2007, at 4:21 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>> From: Several List Members
>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>> Sent: Friday, February 2, 2007 7:19:47 PM
>>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
>>>
>>>> John Swindler wrote:
>>>> why did PAT need more space when system
>>>> ridership was declining.
>>>> He thought they did it so the upper management could
>>>> have the rarefied atmosphere of the Duquesne Club nearby.
>>>
>>> Public transit upper management, in many U.S. cities, are really
>>> "full of themselves" these days. The guy running GCRTA came here
>>> from Syracuse, NY. There he headed up a system with one operating
>>> station (garage) and 102 buses. Immediately up arriving in
>>> Cleveland he changed his title from General Manager to Chief
>>> Executive Officer. His head swelled even before the ink got dry on
>>> his contract! He forgot GCRTA is a public supported transit
>>> authority, not a private company. Many times during public meetings
>>> he has told elederly and disabled individuals who require public
>>> transit that 'they should find another method to get around.' This
>>> occured at at least two public meetings reguarding service cuts and
>>> was reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland Call &
>>> Post. On one occasion tv channel 5's investigative reporter called
>>> him to task on improper use of the taxpayers money for things such
>>> as $100.00 per plate lunches, out of state golf outings and
>>> excessive personal
>>> telephone bills. He was so blatant that he acutally got in front
>>> of the tv cameras and said he "would spend money as he saw fit" and
>>> they (tv channel 5) should "mind their business."
>>>
>>> I can see where the upper management of PATransit would probably be
>>> no different. Too many of them are not in touch with the needs of
>>> the public they are supposed to be serving.
>>>
>>>> the West Busway opened, the East Busway extension
>>>> and Overbrook reconstruction were ongoing, and 24 hour service
>>>> began
>>>> on a few buses.
>>>
>>> Interesting to note that 24-hour service is beginning again. When I
>>> worked at PATransit 24-hour service was offered on both the 42/38
>>> and 35 car lines as well as many bus lines.
>>>
>>> Herb Brannon
>>>
>>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Talk now to your Hotmail contacts with Windows Live Messenger.
> http://get.live.com/messenger/overview
>
More information about the Pittsburgh-railways
mailing list