Gotta love the Bus

Another Florida fish story

Gotta love the Bus

We took the bus the other day to Key West for the day.  As before it was an entertaining $3.00(for both of us) We walked out to US1 and stood under a big tree for 20 minutes. There was  a couple from the marina. She was from California. He owned the boat and was from Texas.  He wore a plastic stetson tied under his chin with a leather lace.  Seemed  nice.  I was too hot so I went further under the tree and Chris heard their story.  He, Billy-Bob, had rescued her from a second mean captain.  She, Peggy-Sue, had advertised herself as crew on some crew network and hooked up with one fellow, then another  fellow who allegedly wanted crew -- it turned into a concubine job.  Oh my, what a surprise! Now both of these people are mid 50,s, not 20.  And I think he was mean to her, likely because she didn't want to be his concubine.

CR asked him where they were headed on the boat, Billy-Bob responded that his destitute brother was also living with him on the boat.  His brother didn't have a passport and didn't have any money for a passport so they were hoping his brother's) kids would give him some money for Christmas so he could get a passport and they could then go to the Bahamas.  The three of them are living on a boat the smaller than, and the vintage of, Big Fun. 

Then the bus came.  Of course it was noisy. There were only a few people on.  We sat forward.  Billy-Bob and Peggy-Sue sat back.  One young woman got on and sat in front of us.  Then a couple of love struck 20 year olds. They sat and snuggled and smootched and touched and petted all the way to Key   West.  In front of us as well so we had full on soft porn for 1.5 hours.  Then a really old man got on with two canes. He was smiley and happy.  He sat down in front of us.  Then another girl gets on and sits in front of us but on the other aisle. And all the time there are two people in the back making lots of noise.  The two girls know each other and of course start talking. Girl number 2 knows the old man.  His name is Otis. Then a man gets on with a folded up bicycle and chats up the driver. The girls chat.  Then they start to talk about some friend who just had to go and have surgery on an abscess on her coccyx, for the second time. One of the girls commented how she  (she must have been a nurse) had been packing the first one and blah blah blah.  I thought CR was going to barf.  And the noise is getting louder, the young ones are groping and we are talking louder just to be heard.

Eventually girl number one gets off.  Then poor old Otis gets off at the Key West hospital and hobbles down a long driveway to the hospital.  Then we get into KW and we have to get off the bus and wait while he gets gas.  So while we are waiting the guy with the bicycle tells us that it is the bus driver's birthday.  He works full time for the city of Marathon in the works dept and drives on the weekend.  The noisy couple get off.  Turns out they are mother and son.  It is her birthday. She is 85 (I couldn't believe it, more on that later) They've come to KW to get loaded.  I think they were already. They launch into a story about taking the bus because the DUI penalties are nasty.  6 months in county plus a big fine. Turns out both sonny boy and the step dad had both done DUI time. Step Dad shouldn't have been driving at the time because he’d had a stroke!

So turns out the DUI old man was from Michigan.  He paid a Fl fine, did Fl time then got a 2k fine from Michigan. He decided not to pay it so the govt took it out of his income tax refund!!  Heard all of this in 5 minutes. She really was 85.  I hope I look that good a 70. So we all get back on the bus and wish the bus driver happy birthday.  He dropped us off and gave us explicit instructions on how to get back on the bus and back to Marathon.

We spent a nice day in Key West. When we went back for the bus at 8pm there were mother and son. Son was so loaded he could hardly stand. She was sober I think.  We get on then Billy-Bob and Peggy-Sue get on then the 2 young lovers, then 4 more people who had come down with us.  We all rode back together.  CR was very anxious that we get off at the right stop.  The lovers were worn out.  Fortunately the drunk fell asleep.  Got to go. Ciao