The ride of a lifetime

Image borrowed from Pixabay.com

 
I know that title made you wonder if I was having fun at a theme park somewhere on a roller coaster ride didn't it?  Some of my "other" rude friends are probably thinking something different.
I will explain.
Yesterday I decided to leave Beast at home and take the minivan into the city.....I do that sometimes.
Usually it's the minivans that everyone complains about...the wreckless driving, the loud music etc, but today my story is not about a minivan ride (although the drivers in my area are very careful drivers)....I repeat my story of horror is not about the minivan drivers, but about the government bus ride back home with a crazy driver.

The big blue bus with the yellow stripe is the government run and operated bus....the preferred mode of transport for the older folks who like to be driven safely and sedately as if going for a Sunday afternoon drive.
Pensioners are allowed to ride free by showing their ID cards and they sit in a seat of their liking where they can ring the bell when it's their turn to disembark.
The bus that runs by my street is a Cave Hill bus.  It leaves the terminal at a quarter to the hour.  Usual travel time is about twenty minutes to half an hour give or take depending on the traffic.
I decided today that I would take that bus home instead of the minivan.
Well who tell me do dat?
First off the driver approached the bus stop so fast that folks who were waiting thought he wasn't going to stop.
He seemed to be in a real hurry...not sure why.
I clambered aboard with my packages and found a seat quickly....others not so quickly...his foot on the gas pedal indicating his eagerness to be off so we should all hurry up and find a seat.
Patience is a virtue they say but not today.
We pulled off and merged into the city traffic and then I felt like I was lost in a twilight zone.
The driver was driving fast like he was at Bushy Park, our local race circuit.  He drove like a maniac.  Was I really in a government bus?  Did I just pay Bds$2.00 to be tossed and tumbled like if I were in a washing machine? The older folk were holding on for dear life, some ladies clutching at their hats and their packages and trying to keep their butts in position on their seats.
Normally passengers in the bus would be waving to friends as they pass on the way but not today...oh no...not today....their hands were playing a more important part...a life survival part....clutching the hand grips so hard on the seats in front of them till their knuckles showed white.
Things were going by in a blur and I doubt they could even make out anyone's faces at the speed we were traveling even if they tried.
When we came to White Park Road near the Court Complex (I have a pending blog post on this), a guy ran up to the bus as it slowed down (because of traffic) and hopped through the door.
"Man I want a ride to Bank Hall, I just get outta prison and I doan have nuh money" he said to the driver.
Everyone in the bus was stunned.
"I ain't passing Bank Hall" the driver said.
"A ride nuh man!!" said the guy.
"NOT passing Bank Hall!" replied the driver.
With that the guy stepped off the bus and the driver "tek off" down de road.
Some of us in the bus smiled (like me) laughed (like me) and discussed the weird behaviour of the young man with their seat mates.
"Dese young people is someting else nuh???" they quipped.
With a jerk back of our heads in unison, the bus was put into gear and we were off again.
I had four packages, but at one point I could only account for three...the other had been flung on to the ground.
Going around the bends and corners was like an obstacle course for the driver...no slowing down.
Like a bat outta hell he drove us his passengers to our destinations.
I disembarked at my stop with a sigh of relief, straightened my clothes, grabbed my packages, said "Thank You" and he was off again in a second.  I was left standing there in a cloud of exhaust fumes.  I was back from the Twilight Zone.
Boy was I glad to be back home safe and sound.
I was so taken aback at his driving that I forgot to take the bus number or his badge number.
Stunned beyond belief.
Like I said it was the ride of a lifetime....not one I am likely to forget.