Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

I was standing at the metro stop waiting for my apartment shuttle to show. It was 4.05 and the shuttle comes at 4.10. At 4.12 I see a bunch of people who also ride the shuttle with me heading down the road a bit to a shuttle bus. See, we've been having issues with the regular shuttles and have had substitute rental buses running one of the routes. We all figured that the guy driving was new and didn't know to pull further up.

I get closer to the bus and hear the driver shouting at the people already at the bus. "This is not the stop! I no come til 4.30! Go and wait there! No let on! Not til 4.30! Go! Go! Away! Go!" One industriuos would be passenger then asked him where the 4.10 bus was and why the driver had let one guy on the bus but not the rest of us (there were over 20 people waiting by now). Guy sticks his arm out the window with his clipboard, "I no know! I come at 4.30!" he shakes his clipboard, "4.30 I come! Away! Go now!"

By now it's 4.20 and we shake our heads and walk back to where we're usually picked up. Chatting amongst ourselves about the crazy angry guy we have as a driver. One lady gets on the phone and calls her apartment office to tell them about the rude driver and to find out why the 4.10 bus didn't show. Crazy driver pulls over to our stop - well, close to it. It was not quite half the distance from where he was, to where we're usually picked up. It's 4.27. So we pile on. Lady is still on the cell to the apartment office and asks Crazy Guy what his name is.

Crazy Guy: "Why you need my name? I have no name. Why you need?"
Cell Lady: "To tell the office about how rude you were."
Crazy Guy: "No name! I give no name!"
Cell Lady into her phone: "Yes, that's the driver yelling. He won't give me his name but he has black hair, dark eyes, is thin and wearing a white shirt and black pants. I can't tell his height because he's sitting down."
Crazy Guy: "No name!"

Passengers are still gettting on, one of them a lady with a mini-suitcase.

Suitcase Lady: "Sir, what's your name?"
Crazy Guy: "I have no name!!"
Suitcase Lady: "You physcially have no name? What do people call you? The guy with no name?"
Crazy Guy throws hands in the air, shakes his head vehemently, mutters something under his breath and audibly says: "I have no name! No name give! Go! Sit! Sit!!"
Cell Lady to Suitcase Lady: "I'm on the phone with the office right now, they can hear him. They're checking with the company to try and find out who this guy is." Then Cell Lady gives her name & cell number to the office person and hangs up.

We finally get on our way. As we're leaving, we pass the normal shuttle and lots of people say things like, "Oh look! There's the 4.30 shuttle. Gee I guess this really IS the 4.10 shuttle." Crazy guy mutters and takes the regular highway instead of the HOV lane. The group just mumbles amongst themselves, not wanting to anger the Crazy guy anymore. I continue working on my crossword puzzle in silence, not saying anything but listening avidly.

We're off the highway and waiting at a light when Cell Lady's phone rings. It's the office trying to get more information on the driver and shuttle bus, so as not to get the wrong driver in trouble. A plan is hatched to get the license plate number at the first stop. However, there is no need to enact the plan as another enterprising soul had already written it down after the first incident. She passes the info along to Cell Lady. Another passenger has managed to decipher a name on the clipboard and passes that along to Cell Lady. Get to the first stop, people pile off. At the second stop, just as Crazy Guy is about to drive off, the regular shuttle honks at him and pulls along side. Regular driver talks to Crazy Guy through the window for a bit and then pulls over in front of Crazy Guy's shuttle.

I overhear their conversation and, apparently Crazy Guy IS supposed to be driving the schedule that would have had him at the metro at 4.10 but he thought he was driving the other schedule. There had been some mix up at the office where the shuttle buses are kept. As the other shuttle is pulling forward, Crazy Guy tells everyone to get off his shuttle and get onto the other one. Nobody moves for a bit and then we get up, climb down and walk to the other shuttle to get on it, passing regular driver on his way back to talk to Crazy Guy.

Yeah, was definitely a non-normal ride home. Instead of getting home at 4.30 or so, I get home after 5. So much for leaving work five minutes early to get home 30 minutes early.

Typically I catch the 4.30 and get home about 5.00. If I catch the 4.10, I get home about 4.30 (less traffic & riders shaves minutes off the ride). Not to mention not having to wait 15 minutes for the 4.30 to show - I ususally get to the metro stop about 4.15.