[PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
Fred Schneider
fwschneider at comcast.net
Mon Feb 5 12:05:38 EST 2007
But he was our Dave and we loved him. I still miss him. He was
the only person who ever invited me for Sunday dinner and then put an
apron on me when I got there and directed me to the stove.
On Feb 5, 2007, at 11:41 AM, John Swindler wrote:
>
> 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
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>> Talk now to your Hotmail contacts with Windows Live Messenger.
>>> http://get.live.com/messenger/overview
>>>
>>
>>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Turn searches into helpful donations. Make your search count.
> http://click4thecause.live.com/search/charity/default.aspx?
> source=hmemtagline_donation&FORM=WLMTAG
>
>
More information about the Pittsburgh-railways
mailing list