Hernando Today
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On THE Bus
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Published: May 14, 2008
SPRING HILL - 9:50 a.m.: Mariner Crossing shopping plaza. The elderly couple has somewhere to go and asks Jimmy the Bus Driver for help.
"We want to be dropped off at Arby's," the woman says.
Jimmy, who's just sucked a cigarette down to the filter, says they have the right bus. The "blue route" leaves Mariner Crossing - the one on State Road 50 with Bealls - on the hour. Arby's is one of 69 stops on the route, which heads west on 50, south on U.S. 19 and then north through the bowels of Spring Hill.
The elderly couple pays $1 for one-way fares for the both of them (that's half-price for seniors, students and the disabled) and climb aboard.
They join nine other passengers, including an infant in the arms of his mother and a reporter who's relegated himself to the back of the bus.
10 a.m., sharp: The doors swoosh shut and the air brakes hiss as Jimmy hits the gas.
10:07: Arby's. The elderly couple gets off and walk arm-in-arm toward the restaurant.
Two minutes later, the bus stops at High Point. Three men get off, including one with a big bass fish emblazoned on the back of his T-shirt and a 12-pack of Busch beer under his arm. "Have a good one," he tells Jimmy.
Another man pulls his bike down from a rack on the front of the bus and rolls away.
10:10: Oak Hill Hospital. It's one of the few stops on the route with a shelter, which is empty this time. Jimmy eyes a woman who appears to be heading toward the bus. False alarm, though - she gets into a PT Cruiser.
10:16: West Hernando Library. The reporter holds his breath as Jimmy weaves through a tight curve in the parking lot, perilously close to cars on both sides. He does it with the kind of nonchalance that indicates he's done this before. The reporter exhales. A studious-looking man with glasses and a neat haircut slings a flowered backpack over his shoulder disembarks and heads into the library.
10:36: Forest Oaks Boulevard. Jimmy pulls a U-turn so the young mother doesn't have to cross four lanes of traffic to get to Career Central. She gets off and struggles to unfold a stroller as she juggles the baby and two huge bags. No time for chivalry, though. There's a schedule to keep.
10:46: Wal-Mart on U.S. 19. A middle-aged man gets on wearing shorts, a fanny pack and, oddly, a jacket. He parks himself under a sign noting that "Minor Violations" on the bus include uttering "profanity" and "pushing or jostling" and that "Major Violations" comprise "racial slurs" and "public intoxication."
10:52: Publix, in Hernando West Plaza. A man sporting a ponytail on his head and bottle of fabric softener in his hand gets on. So does an elderly woman. The jacketed man jumps up to grab her bag so she can board. It's clear they've met before when she asks how he's been and he begins to tell her about his efforts to find a birthday gift for his "wicked stepmother of the West."
11:07: Northcliffe Boulevard. A young woman in a McDonald's uniform climbs on, grabs a seat in the back and immediately plugs her ears with an iPod.
11:09: Mariner Crossing shopping center. No one gets on, but Jimmy's ahead of schedule so he gets off to smoke. A man in a baseball cap and aviator sunglasses gets off to join him. Jimmy sure can polish off a cigarette.
11:30: Mariner Boulevard. A beep sounds as Jimmy lowers the bus's ramp. A man on a motorized scooter and a red T-shirt with "USA Gigolo Boys" on the front rolls on and parks himself in the designated space for wheelchairs.
11:37: Publix, in the Mariner Commons shopping center. More beeps as the ramp goes down and Gigolo Man rolls off.
11:43: Mariner Boulevard, just south of 50. The McDonald's worker gets off, visor in hand, and heads toward the Golden Arches. It was a 36-minute commute but, hey, Jimmy did the driving.
11:48: After a quick loop through Wal-Mart, Jimmy pulls up to the shelter in front of Bealls, right on time.
The final tally: one stroller, one bike, one wheelchair, one bottle of fabric softener, 12 beers and 24 riders during a two-hour loop - not counting the reporter.
Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.
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