Strange Things and Weirdos IV

The good old bus. The busses around here never seem to run on any particular schedule. I learned that early, so I chose a bus route that had a bus that came every 15 minutes so that I theoretically didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus. It's been pretty successful. But I still wonder sometimes why these busses are late. Aside from the fact that they're probably on fire somewhere waiting eternally for the Berkeley FD to come put them out, what else could it be? Well, I got a glimpse as to why this bus system is so fucked up here.

Tonight I went to the bus stop to wait for my bus, but there was another already there, with the lights flashing, like it was broken down. I figured it was a mechanical failure. This would be normal. I saw the driver standing outside the bus waving at something. Was she waving down another driver? No. She was waving at a bug. The bus had stopped because there was a bug in it. Al Qaida doesn't need bombs to bring our mass transit to a halt, they only need s single insect that weighs less than 3 grams. I don't even think that they're illegal to posess in most states (although they may be considered a deadly weapon in Kalifornia). I asked her if it was a wasp, thinking that perhaps she was highly allergic to its sting, which would be bad for all the passengers involved if she went into shock. She said "Yeah, or somethin'. It's buzzin' in my ear!" Obviously, it wasn't at the time, because she was outside the bus and it was inside. Bear in mind, it's dark outside, and the bus is well lit inside, and she's got the door open trying to get it out. I advised her that she should turn out the interior bus lights so that it wouldn't be attracted to the lights in the bus and also to keep further insects out. Eventually she built up enough courage to run in and quickly turn out the interior lights. I guess this helped somewhat, but the interior lights stayed on by the drivers door, which is where the bug was to begin with, so it was a moot point. Not to mention that, but it was the brightest light in the area and right by the open door: a bug attractor.

At this point, I noted the time: 8:45pm, PST. This wasn't my bus, but another one that only runs on the hour this late at night--which meant one of two things: this bus wasn't on schedule at all or she had been parked here for 45 minutes trying to remove the offending insect. Considering that there were no passengers on the bus I concluded that the 45 minute scenario was more likely because: a. any passengers that were there would have walked away by now and b. this was the reason that the bus' schedule was so fucked up to begin with.

I took a closer look inside the bus at the insect, expecting this insidious, deadly black and yellow hornet by this time, only to be stunned at the discovery of the insect the driver was swatting at: a moth. The AC Transit bus service had been delayed 45 minutes because of a moth. Yes, a moth. And it would no doubt be delayed countless more minutes because several others were destined to join it in the bright paradise of the fluorescent interior lights of the bus.

While the driver was not allergic to the moth (as I know no one who is allergic to moths), I must say that I think I have developed an allergy to the stupidity of the people out here.