Tommy and Other Tidbits

I just watched a documentary on David Crosby. He was very sad, approaching the end of his life. He's still writing though. As I watched and learned about one of the phenomenons of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, a strong desire to write something/anything nearly stopped my own heart. It didn't matter what it was about, but when you have done something you love for many years, the urge is like that of an addictive drug.

This fall, I will turn 60. My pseudonym approaches its seventh birthday but I'm moving beyond anonymity. Writing as Patrick once scared me, but cowardice is destructive. Management may not always like what I write, but the feeling is sometimes mutual. Still, we both have transit jobs to do and I'll do mine as long as they (and/or my body) allow. Hopefully, I continue to improve in both my profession and art. Hell, many of you have chided me when these words crossed some invisible line of decency, and I deserved it. Your love and support though, have never wavered. Mostly, you have encouraged me to keep writing this blog. OK, you win.

Several times the past few years I've been ready to stop blogging, and even stated it was time to shut it all down. Each instance of this has been met with some cathartic interaction with a reader, giving me love and respect. It's kinda hard to stop when people support me, even when y'all say you would understand if I stopped. Lately I've discovered more transit blogs written by the folks who make wheels roll. That's so cool! Some of them write better than I do, with more intelligent takes on issues than I can offer. The more the better, I say. Our profession is so misunderstood and rarely portrayed. There are many talented operators in our world I'm surprised we're not flooded with blogs. When FTDS makes its final hoorah, I'm happy to know there are others who will easily fill the tiny void I leave.

Yesterday I read a comment from a brother asking why I keep posting my blog where he can see it. It was on a thread I'm not really related to except within our shared union brotherhood. He said he just skims right past my posts. That's okay. I'm not so egotistical to realize these words fail to entertain some people. It's life, it's real and honest. I offered to stop posting there, but the brother said he couldn't speak for all of the other members, and that he would just keep scrolling past. He told me to just keep being Deke.

What a generous gesture, I understood, and thanked him. Still, there was a bursting kernel of truth in what he wrote. I'm not vain enough to continue self-promoting. The two times I tried being a salesman were the only professions in which I failed. If someone truly feels the need to share what I offer here, then it should be up to you to make that decision. Begging you to do so is dirty pool. All I care about, man, is just to write one operator's truth to transit. Some of you will enjoy, agree or disagree... but your simply reading is enough for me. Thank you.

As another age milestone luckily lurks this year, I see my youthful musical heroes growing old. Linda Ronstadt lost her voice, but she still promotes the good remaining within. The greats are fading but they're not slinking into obscurity... they still perform their art. While I lag behind them one or two decades, it'll be a snap of the return key before I am where they are now. It's a bit scary but our constant progression is fact. Youth and mystery cloud our end-point when it seems too far ahead to fathom. If someone my age, or considerably younger, dies, I'm left wondering, "Why them and not me?" Truly, when it happens to me, somebody else might repeat these words. Unless I'm an asshole, of course.

Part of my daily work Mantra could all be summed up by saying "Just don't be an asshole." But it carries too negative a weight. Such a statement is best said in a more positive manner. So last week I added "Be Fun" in honor of my father also, James Taylor. Dad said "The secret of life is to have fun every day." JT wrote "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time." Both are selfish pleasures, but both men have inspired a great deal of joy in my life as well as others with whom they shared their love.

So many possibilities to make a positive impact
in our world of interaction.

A new positive influence has entered my life recently. Tommy Transit is a former Vancouver, British Columbia city bus operator. He has an innovative manner of "getting into alignment with others" using what he calls "Seven Steps of The Art of Acknowledgement". He realized as an operator that people simply long to be acknowledged. A kind word can uplift someone where indifference puts others off. I've written many times about how discouraged I am when passengers don't even look at me when boarding. It makes me wonder if I exude some negative aura. Maybe if I adopt Tommy's art of shining my fun rather than allowing storm clouds to gather above, the sun will shine again on my bus. I have allowed the dullness of these years cut me off from scores of very decent human interactions. In an era of mass attacks on transit operators, this attitude of allowing separation could become deadly.

Tommy Transit may be done with Vancouver's transit system, but he dislikes the word "retired". Instead, he chooses to be "re-fired" with enthusiasm to continue uplifting people. He and his partner Michelle have launched "Bus Drivers On A Mission". It's a business concept based on traveling the world giving motivational speeches to scores of dumped-upon transit workers, hoping to help us discover a more-positive way of greeting our public. Full-time operators give about 150,000 rides annually. We personally interact with more people, he estimates, than the President, Pope and Queen each year.

"It's a chance for operators to brighten the world," he explains, "one compliment and smile at a time. If you do this, you can create a ripple effect which could echo goodness across the world."

Even a grinch can find his smile
when a hug comes along!

This is a cool cat, Tommy Transit. He also wrote a book, "Tommy Transit's Bus Tales: How to Change the World from 9 to 5" which I hope to read and review soon. In turn, he's currently reading "JUST DRIVE - Life in the Bus Lane." (Thanks to whoever loaned their copy to him!) When I come across someone whose goal is to spread smiles, my soul is drawn to them. We've had a few conversations the past few weeks, and they have greatly helped my attitude. I hope our new friendship is as beneficial to him as it already has been for me. Even now, I'm smiling at the thought of our new friendship.

There you have it. A post I hadn't planned. Just free-form writing from whatever lurked within. I don't expect to share it, nor will I ask you to. If people are meant to read my blog, they'll find it own their own or via my "Deke Writes" Facebook page. It's just me after all, and y'all know I'm just a goofy guy who loves to see you smile.

Thanks for riding along!

db