You Don't Always Win

A lesson to you, 

A lesson to all.

Be mean on my bus, 

And I might make you fall. 

I teach those who need it,

Some men need tools, 

But by the time they're off the bus

They're embarrassed fools. 

This is a story

Of a man named Dan, 

Who thought he was great

With his big, white, van. 

Broken down, with tinted windows,

And a radio that was loud. 

With his '80s mustache

That made him so proud. 

He was a creeper for sure

Candidate for most wanted.

He was a registered sex offender

Something he had flaunted. 

So this sick pervert

Came on my bus.

Decided to be mean,

So he had to mess with Gus. 

It was a normal day 

I was doing the 28 route.

Early in the morning I realized

The end of the drought. 

The clouds transformed to gray

But no water had yet fallen. 

First stop I see a young boy, 

My friend's son, Colin. 

He sits in the back, 

A place he was always told to sit.

So he sat his 8 yr. old body 

In hand me downs that didn't fit. 

The pervert on the bus, 

was already back there

The tall creepy man, 

Touched poor Colin's hair. 

I tried to get the attention

of the careless MUNI man. 

But he wasn't aware 

of anything but his spray tan. 

So early in the morning, 

I couldn't risk waiting.

For more passengers to get on, 

what he was doing was painting. 

A picture of lost innocence

One no one should see, 

So I did what I needed to 

This wasn't happening in front of me. 

Luckily for little Colin, 

His school wasn't too far. 

One more short stop, 

And he could enjoy the fruit bar. 

The bus stopped and Colin ran

Incredibly far from the bus. 

Dan, your fun is over. 

"Who is that?" "It's Gus!"

Thinking he'd gone mad, 

Thinking he was going crazy.

I just knew he was twisted, 

What modern day kids call shady. 

He pulled out papers 

From his silly office job. 

So I decided screw him over

Make this pervert sob!

Outside the rain began to pour, 

His papers were scattered around.

So I opened my windows, 

And papers flew to the ground. 

He was mad and grabbed them, 

Thinking the bus was retarded. 

Little did Dan with the van know, 

I was just getting started.

His papers out of order, 

Sat on his lap with a bar of toffee.

Out of his right hand flew, 

On a sharp turn his cup of coffee. 

He shouted so loud, 

He was in so much pain. 

His papers ruined 

From coffee and rain.

He had scarred

This innoncent little boy. 

So I was determinded

To make Dan my new toy. 

Not the kind of toy

you begged all year for. 

The kind of toy you break, 

You'd rather play with Thor. 

A man in a suit, 

Whose work was destroyed.

Coffee on his suit, 

Soon he would be deployed. 

Not to a war,

Of mass destruction.

But a war of the streets, 

That's always in construction. 

Five gangsters got on the bus, 

They saw dirty Dan. 

They knew it'd  be fun

To mess with the preppy man. 

They sat next to him, 

And for once tossed him around. 

He didn't like the way it felt, 

To be so low to the ground. 

Stop, Stop, Stop! 

He yelled on the bus.

But the MUNI driver ignored it, 

It sounded like normal MUNI fuss. 

So Dan so weak 

Thought of something to say, 

That would make all gangsters go away.

He thought long, and hard, 

And pulled the trigger. 

Dan froze after he spoke

The word rhyming with Tigger. 

A word that didn't have

Such fun bouncing meaning. 

But a word that left 

These gangsters craving. 

Not for an explanation, 

Or a drug of any sort. 

But of the blood of this man

Whose life would now be short. 

It was never my intention, 

For this event to occur,

But he was a man, 

Some say deserved it for sure.

A man of twisted thoughts, 

And plenty estranged views. 

So they lit him on fire, 

And hung him from a noose. 

I don't agree,

That violence is the solution. 

Violence is the oppostie. 

It's life pollution. 

But as I think

About the many of the others.

Some children, some friends, 

And many young brothers, 

I don't feel bad, 

Because they were hurt

He tried to cover by his 

Nicely pressed dress shirt. 

I knew there were others, 

I left out a detail. 

When Dan dropped his papers

His skin turned pale. 

It was because he was scared, 

Of what others might see. 

That those papers were files,

Of boys who couldn't flee. 

A worker at an orphange, 

An orphanage of young males. 

These boys would never 

Get the chance to set their sails.

He had ruined the lives 

Of so much of the youth, 

He couldn't get away

That now he had to face the truth. 

His guilt created shame

About the things he had done, 

Unfortunately in this situation, 

We all lost. No one won.

Please Don't Ask Me!!!

I was riding down mission street, because that was the route I was given that day. It's my favorite bus route to drive because so much can happen, but on this occasion on this day there was a boy, had nothing. He had sat on me with his baggy jeans, dirty large over-sized t-shirt. The boy was looking around the bus and observing the people on the bus. He made eye contact with a few people, and had decided that now would be the perfect time to start to do what he had planned to do on the bus. As I realized that he looked like he was up to something, I began to pay extra attention. The young man stood up with his over- size jeans, and approached the old lady sitting across from him. "Hi, Ma'am, could you spare some change?" The frightened old lady grabbed her purse tight and shook her head no. Lonely in the back sat a college student with his headphones on, who was observing the very act that I was. I knew what he was thinking, "Please don't ask me for money!!!" the thought repeated in his head. He saw the young man continuously asking every single person on the bus if they had change to spare. Few gave him change, many politely said they had nothing, and very few completely ignored him. He was at the halfway point of the bus, and the young man with baggy clothes was approaching the college student. I took it upon myself to tell him something that a friend had told me when I traveled to New York when I was young about people asking for money. "The key to dealing with people who are going to ask you something, is to anticipate their question and ask them before they ask you. You essentially want to act crazier than the person who will approach you," I explained to him. As the young man in baggy clothes got closer, the college student rehearsed what he was going to do when the young man approached him. It was the moment of truth and there they were. A young boy with baggy, ragged, clothes, staring into the eyes of a college student. "Hey man do you have some spare change?" the college student asked the young man with baggy clothes. The kid with baggy clothes looked at the college student. The college student knew that the young man was questioning if the college student was being serious. The college student started acting as if he had a twitch and started whispering sentences that made no sense at all. The young man in baggy clothes looked again at the college student and smiled. As he smiled at the college student he put his hands in his pocket, and grabbed all the money he had been collecting from the bus rides he had ridden all day. With both hands full of change and a few bills, he looked at the college student, gave him the money and said, "I'm always eager to help those who need help more than I do." Guilt ran through the veins of the college student. The young man walked away and got off the bus at the next stop. The college student sat there, as did I. Both surprised with how the situation had turned out, me and the college student realized something. Sometimes people don't look like their intentions are genuine, but looks can be deceiving. The college student sat on the bus with two hands full of change, embarrassed, and stood up because his stop was coming. All I could hope for at this point was that the college student would do something right with the money that he had received. As the college student walked off the bus, there was a homeless man pushing a shopping cart full of blankets, with a coffee tin can hanging at his side. The college student took the money and put it in the homeless man's tin. He smiled at the homeless man, and walked away. After I saw that I knew it was my turn to pay it forward. I drove off and continued on my route, but I felt it was my duty to give everyone a free ride for the rest of the day, and I decided to light up my out of order sign on the money dispenser.

Can I Play?

Three people walked on,
On this gloomy summer day.
One very straight,
Two super gay.
Under the influence,
They had had a few.
Something that was old,
But they burned two.
Trying to entertain themselves
They wanted to see a dimple.
So they decided they would play
Find the nipple!
The game although immature
Could amuse almost anyone.
Required practice, concentration
Brings a level of fun.
The point of the game is
stare into the eye.
Trying to find a nipple
of the girl or the guy.
Take your index finger
And place it on the jackpot,
See your opponent
Blush when you get that spot.
The two boys began
As one tried to find
But I hit a bump and
He poked his friend's mind.
They laughed out loud
Drawing attention to the game.
But people didn't understand,
They didn't know the name.
So it was Guy #2's turn
He was determined so he goes.
I hit another bump in the road,
Guy #2 hit Guy #1 in the nose.
The girl with excitement
was ready to try,
She wanted to make
Guy 1 and 2 cry!
She goes to Guy 1
And closes her eyes
Feels him to find them connect.
She's got it to her surprise.
One point for her
And nothing for him
She wanted to be victorious
Being challenged, the sky got dim.
She waited for him to
Try and poke at her
But all he got
Was jacket fur.
But before they can get
To round number 2
A short stubby man
Who resembled a Jew
Began to glare
At the 3 people playing.
He scurried close
To hear what they were saying.
I think it's funny
No one can touch my nipple.
The girl was bragging.
But guy#2 I love your dimple.
So the little man
Now understood the game,
so he leaned over and asked
with absolutely no shame.
Hey guys, don't mean to be rude
Can I play?
The girl looks disgusted.
What!?! No Way!
Discrimination!
That's all he could say.
Discrimination? How?
It's because I'm not gay!
HA! That's funny,
That's not it at all.
It's because you're a stranger,
Ugly, fat, and 4 feet tall.
So sad and hurt
The old man turned away.
Why were you so mean
You don't know where he might lay.
Realizing how rude,
She agreed to one round.
The little man excited,
Smiled while making a sound.
Her eyes stared into his
And with a grin, she went.
She missed, she missed,
Her turn she had spent.
The pressure was on him,
He began to sweat.
His fingers trembling,
Perspiring, they were wet.
He took a deep breath,
And shoved his finger,
Which is how he discovered,
She was a singer!
She belted a high note,
And scared the short man.
I'm sorry, what's your name?
Before he could say Dan,
He got pale in the face,
And began to faint.
He fell to the floor
Out fell a brush for paint.
The girl stared
At the body that lay
Of a short ugly man
Who just wanted to play.
The Ambulance was called,
The man had died.
Poor little Jew,
the 3 of them cried.
Back on the bus,
In complete silence
they sat 2 and 1.
Their game they'd been playing
was no longer fun.
The girl's eyes wandered
And she saw the brush.
The cops forgot to get it
Because they left in a rush.
Attached to the brush,
Was a note that read,
The next nipple I touch
Will leave me dead!

San Francisco or Africa?

A little girl with nappy curly hair walked on to me, the bus. I introduced myself as Gus. She was girl of no more than five years of experience, with a woman who couldn't provide for her, because she was all strung out on drugs I've never heard of. The innocence of the girl was gone from this world, not fair, she would grow up fast. The woman who was her company, thought she was funny, and blurted profanity for the first two stops. I nudged the driver that she was a diver, jumping into an empty pool. So I decided to save the little girl from from having a world, like her old friend. "Get off this bus!" I yelled to the woman. "Who the hell are you?" she yelled up to the roof. "My name is Gus, I own this bus, and I suggest you get off!" Without hesitation, she left the situation, but forgot one thing, a child who was no longer smiling. The little girl stayed on the bus, and started to speak to Gus for there weren't too many people riding that day. "How are you, sweetheart?" Gus asked the girl. "I'm OK, but now what do I do today." she sounded worried. "Don't worry, my love, today your life will change." The bus stopped, and a homeless woman walked on and sat across from the little girl. With her boom box and headphones in her hand, and a hairdo only a mother could love, the lady asked the little girl if she had any requests. The little girl looked scared and said nothing but held onto her Simba stuffed animal that she had found at the Civic Center BART station the day before on the floor. The homeless woman looked at the animal and smiled. The bus stopped, and a tall young man with a mane of his own wearing brown pants and a tan T-shirt walked on to the bus. He smiled at the little girl, "Simba has returned!" the homeless lady spoke to the little girl. I can't explain how I did it or how I knew it would work, but I just knew these three people deserved to be helped, I did. The homeless woman looked up and heard something from her boom box. For the first time her boombox actually worked. So she sang, "NAAAAAAAAAA SINGUENYAAAAAAAAA BUBBBBBA BEECHIMABA! SEEEETEEEECUMB OHHHHHHYAAAAA AMMMMMA!" The little girl, in amazement looked at the homeless woman, in shock. The homeless woman stopped. The little girl started to sing, "From the day we arrived on this planet." Soon the attention of the other people of the bus was being drawn to the front of the bus, where the three strangers stood near each other. All looking at each other with smiles that lit up the faces of all the other riders, the little girl continued to sing the words. The presence of this little girl grabbed the attention of the young man. A young man who was in college and had no clue what he wanted to do, but knew that he wanted to help people somehow. The homeless lady joined the little girl, "It's the circle of life. And it moves us all!" She jumped up onto the MUNI seat like a half lion half person. "Through despair and hope, through faith and love!!!" The three of them joined together, "'Til we find our place, On the path unwinding. In the circle, the circle of life!" The entire bus clapped. The homeless woman, whose singing voice was actually quite good began to sing more songs from The Lion King Broadway soundtrack, as the young man sat next to the little girl. "Where are you parents?" he asked the little girl. "What are parents?" the little girl asked, confused. The young man looked at her and said, "Are you here alone?" The little girl nodded her head yes. It was the end of the bus route and I knew I had seen a miracle. I knew what I was doing bringing this young man to this young girl's life. The young man was volunteering at an orphanage; being that he was an orphan himself, he knew he had to take this girl in. They walked off of my bus hand in hand, as they headed to the orphanage that he was working at. I was tired. I wanted to sleep. I realized that everyone had left the bus, except the homeless lady. I saw her sleeping on the seats and decided that tonight, she wouldn't be homeless. I parked myself in the lot of all the other MUNI buses turned my heater on, and fell asleep. Tonight I was not a bus named gus, I was home!

Love Me or Hate Me

My name is Gus
And I am a Bus,
I come from San Paolo, Brasil.
I don't have a locker,
I love to play soccer,
I have a lot of goals to fulfill.
They sent me to Frisco,
Where we don't cook with Crisco,
Everyone doesn't eat meat.
I'm retiring from MUNI
I can be a bit loony,
I'll leave you on foot in the street.
These are my stories
I put all of my glory
And try to teach the community.
A thing or two,
About me and you,
Successful I am definitely.
Some days there are cries,
Because everything dies,
In this crazy world.
Some days you'll laugh,
I'm the funniest of the MUNI staff,
Comes from my dead girl.
She loved my smile,
50 years a long while,
But now she rests in peace.
So I am here on vacation,
With no obligation,
Except one route til I'm deceased.
I have some fun
On every run,
To entertain myself daily.
Upset me today
Look every way
Because I might do something shady.
My culture is better,
We always get wetter
The sexiest people around.
You vegetarians,
You pescatarians,
You all shouldn't make a sound.
So read them or don't
Beg you? I won't
I don't care if you do.
Just don't be surprised,
If it sounds like your life,
Because it's probably about you!

peace