Trimess

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT GETS IT?

Who would have believed that this guy could create so much havoc
Trimet has been a source of entertainment for me for some time now. I always loved observing people and events there. Actually I became fascinated with it. The people working in transit and the people using transit. The whole world right in front of you as a bus driver. And  being part of Trimet as the technology started developing and putting that to work in my job at Trimet. I regret nothing. My 15 years at Trimet turned out to be one of the most profound experiences of my life.
I didn't really want to leave, but I could see the signs and they were not good. The management was definitely unhappy that I was there and the job became more and more miserable. Nobody believed that I was actually going to quit, but quit I did. And surprisingly I never regretted it for even one second.

But I didn't really quit. I only quit the part that was oppressing me. My interest in the subject matter never quit. But now I could do the blogging that I always wanted to do but could never do as an employee.

And because I didn't work there anymore I had time, time that I never had before. And then I found Twitter, and met some very interesting people there, one of whom is the very eccentric Lane Jensen. And Lane and I slowly developed a relationship. The relationship evolved like many other relationships I have with younger people. I became sort of a 'big brother' figure. I found I could handle his craziness, something not always easy to do. And I was there the day he got fired when his bus broke down. And I took that energy he had about that and put it too good use.

Little did I realize that Lane would end up destabilizing the entire bureaucracy of Trimet.
And I sat in amazement as he appeared on each and every TV news station.
And I'm still amazed that Lane Jensen has been able to have such a huge effect of this behemoth of an organization and the energy and work he puts into his blog.

It's quite an accomplishment and I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

The fact that Lane Jensen, of all people, could create such chaos is astounding to me, truly astounding.

I thrive on Trimet intrigue, it thrills me like no movie or TV show can do.
Lane has been the star of the show since he showed up.


5 comments:

The Chauffeur said...

Thanks Al! Those are very kind words to say.

Unknown said...

I'm all for being a "watchdog," but thinkin' this guy is somewhat of a "stalker." I reeeaaaaallllllyyyy don't understand the obsession with public transportation employees. Why not Police, who many have the tendency to abuse their authority?? The court system (judges mostly, not juries), that is not about justice, but control and abuse of power...Public schools that are in essence a "money pit" (though like transit, not necessarily caused by the "blue collar workers" but the administration(s)). Is public transit just the easier kid to pick on??

Al M said...

The whole 'stalker' thing is worn out and tired.
Ellen Fox pretty much wore all that out with her constant accusations about me when in fact I never stalked her.

Obviously Lane hasn't stalked anybody.
Lane is a creation of the Trimet operators themselves.

They handed him all the stories and their obsession with him wearing the trimet coat and hat turned the whole thing into a public spectacle.

So stop with the stalker label, nobody buys it, its just spitting in the wind trying to find some way to make him into a trouble maker.

He would have been a nobody if the drivers had just ignored him.

(of course running two stop signs with a camera pointed right at you out in the open doesn't help either)

Al M said...

And if you had read the story you would know why his obsession began

Unknown said...

I get it, that doesn't mean anything because, it is "his" thing.
HB