Six Men on a Train

I went to work late today because I was suffering from vertigo. And no, I don't think it's my new job making me dizzy, you smart *****.

At the stop after mine, six men got on with suitcases. A couple of them looked old enough to be retired and several sported the same semi-uniform. It was a bit strange; the stop isn't one for conventioneers or tourists, they didn't look like bowling teams - I wasn't sure what was up. Did I mention they were all white men? I happen to live in a county where whites are the minority (not that there's anything wrong with that) so that was another factor that made things intriguing.

I continued reading my book and shortly thereafter heard a voice saying "Mam?" Now, some 15 years after I was probably first called "Mam," it's still a word I don't automagically respond to. But I realized there wasn't anyone else in the train car, it must be me. (DANG!)

The guy wanted to know if there was a stop where they could find someplace decent to eat. I recommended Chinatown. As we continued to chat (so much for that childhood advice to NOT talk to strangers), I learned they all worked for a company in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that makes buses, cement mixers, and I forget the third type of vehicle. They were on their way back home after driving down 6 new Metro buses.

One of the drivers asked me to guess how much in diesel it cost to drive a bus here. I had no idea. "Eight hundred dollars," he replied. Whew!

Several of the guys are retired and this is their "keep out of trouble" job (or more probably, "get out of wife's hair job"). A couple have another "real" full-time job and do this part-time. We talked until my stop. It's always fascinating to learn about what people do for a living.