Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Say Good Bye to Mr. Cracky

Got my windshield fixed on Monday. The kind people at Haleck Island Motors fixed up my Nissan. I still have not named my car yet, can't rush these things, but I did name the large hole in my windshield - Mr Cracky. Okay, perhaps not a very original or even good name, but it made me laugh. But now, Mr. Cracky is gone. I am still pursuing the little rascal that threw the rock into my windshield, but it is a slow process.

I dropped off my car in the morning and the repair guy asked me if I wanted to wait or if they would call me when it was done. I told them to call me, but I asked if it would be done today. They said they would try. what? What happens if I decided to wait. Do they provide a cot and dinner? perhaps breakfast the next morning. Luckily, it was done that day.

Sean and I took the bus from work to home, so Jessi could drive us to Haleck Motors. Thanks Jessi. Sean had taken the bus many times before when he didn't have a car the first two weeks. However, it was my first time on a bus. It was amazing.

The local buses are owned by the driver. The rides can range from 25 cents to a whole dollar. ouch. The structure of the bus is what makes it fun. Most of the buses are converted trucks where a wooden frame is placed on top of the back. It is then covered with sheet metal. To signal your stop, you knock on the wood frame. You need to duck down to enter and then walk up to get to the seating area. The passenger seats are higher then the driver. It looks like the driver is seating on the floor, but he is simply seating where you would be if this was a normal truck. It is hard to describe. As private buses, the owners take pride in their bus and really decorate and paint it up nice.

The bus above, is more of a modern bus because it was actually built as a bus. Many of the others are smaller, and simply have a wood frame (covered by sheet metal) for the passenger compartment.

The highlight of the ride is the audio system on each bus. The buses are hooked up for sound. I am not sure why, but the drivers play really loud music on the bus, normally some sort of fast tempo Samoan music or rap music and with the bass or treble really high. It can make your ears bleed. A fellow passenger brought along ear plugs - a smart move. It is also fun to watch the driver change the compact disk, while driving on the really curvy roads - safety first!

I can't wait for my next bus ride.

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