[PRCo] Re: patservicecuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07

Mon Feb 5 11:41:50 EST 2007

The worst part about Fred's stories, below, is that they are true.  (:>)  
Dave was a character.  There's a few other stories he hasn't related.  
Perhaps because no one would believe them.  (what about the left over pepsi 
in the secretaries flower pot?)

I know Fred didn't enjoy some aspects of his last few years.  At least he 
was by then in a position to do something about it - like retire.  (and 
collect more stamps in his passport)

John

>From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.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: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 19:08:03 -0500
>
>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
> >>>
> >>
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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>
>

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