The Dao of Doug: The Art of Driving a Bus: Finding Zen in San Francisco Transit: A Bus Driver's Perspective: Dao of Doug, #1

Review

The Dao of things cannot be complete without the Dao of Driving a bus. I’d ride with Doug all the way to the Himalayas just to listen to the art of his wisdom.

David Biddle, author of Implosions of America—A Story Collection

Nice read. I like the mix of situational context and life lessons.

Chad Upham, graduate, Art Center College of Design.

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Back Door! Brandon Stanton

Books by Douglas Meriwether

The Dao of Doug: The Art of Driving a Bus OR Finding Zen in San Francisco Transit: A Bus Driver’s Perspective

The Dao of Doug 2: the Art of Driving a Bus: Keeping Zen in San Francisco Transit: a Line Trainer's Guide

Contact at:

www.daoofdoug.com

The Dao of Doug:

The Art of Driving a Bus OR Finding Zen in San Francisco Transit: A Bus Driver’s Perspective

By

Douglas Meriwether

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well- being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Cover and interior imagery © PhotosbyDoogie. They are of and by the author.

The views contained herein do not necessarily reflect those of the SFMTA or its employees.

Douglas Meriwether ©2018

Douglas Meriwether Revised Edition 6.27.18

Dedication

To All Transit Operators:

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To who have passed, and those who shall come. For those running late, clocking hot on the run. For those I have hurt; giving a ‘brush’ in a rush; and being curt. Being short, in the office, now on report. Lest I forget, when calling the kettle, while stirring the pot!

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ann Delay, Steven Whitworth, and Cyndia Chambers for help with the title of this book.

Any Life worth living is worth writing about

Anthony Robbins

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

I’d Never Do Your Job 1

Yard-starter 4

First Stop 8

Not all Stops are Equal 10

The Fare Box 13

Free Ride 23

Tag-in Please 25

Where to Stand 28

Morning Rush 30

Five Greens of Happiness 33

Stopping and Starting 36

The Noodle 37

School Trip 40

Sit Back and Watch the Show 41

Thank you for Riding! 43

All Alone 45

Dragging the Line 48

Loading Zone 50

Surrender 54

Headway 58

Packed Stacked and Racked 61

Split Doors Split Groups 63

Pulling Poles 65

Secure the Coach 67

Knowing the Lights 69

Car Karma 72

Next Bus 74

Nowhere in Particular 77

The Late Ring 80

The Black Hole 83

Boarding the Coach 84

Sleepers 87

The Boat People 90

The White Lie 91

What It’s Really About  93

Move Up Four 95

Back Door! 97

Dump and Run 100

Seniors Come Out 102

Reroute In-Effect 104

Special Events 106

New Year’s Eve  108

The Bigger They Are 110

The Argument You Cannot Win 114

The Stroller Incident 116

Moms and Babies 118

Always In Service 120

Pulling In 123

Pulling Out 127

Beach and Broderick 129

Coach Trade and the Defect Card 131

Calling Central 133

Shoes 139

Wheel Blocks 142

RDO 144

The Zen Zone 146

Witching Hour 151

The Ninth Level of Hell 152

Daly City 702 154

Payback 158

When Worlds Collide 160

Reprise 162

Glossary

About the Author

Other Books by Douglas Meriwether

Foreword

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I have struggled with self-sufficiency and independence all my life by blazing ahead without asking for help from others, and writing this book was no exception. Like the adage about the heroic mail carrier, I have always thought that keeping the bus moving through rain, sleet, and dead of night was the path to success. This, however, is seldom possible in downtown San Francisco on Market Street during rush hour! Keeping to the schedule has not led to any such success that I can see.

The editing, marketing, and production of the book is an area out of my expertise, and I had to learn about these aspects of publishing with professional help. Rather than go to writing workshops or groups, I pushed ahead alone. Removing typos and word crimes from earlier editions could have been avoided with a professional edit. Having the time to interview or get the word out would have also helped! Working full time on the bus and managing this project has been interesting to say the least. The feelings of being a failure or a success can turn on a dime at any street corner or bus stop.

Knowing and meeting Muni at the door is not an attempt at the disunity of superiority. Fellow operators who tell a new hire that I know everything when I hand them my book means I have largely failed in my endeavor in writing this book. I laughed really hard at a reviewer who stated tourists will be disappointed in reading this book. Perhaps, but not as disappointing as trying to board and ask questions about where I go or what I do when I am late and full. Or freezing in the cold foggy wind in shorts without a jacket. State your needed destination with the cross street or pinpoint the name of a major destination. Our bus shelters display a great transit map with all the details of routes, frequency, and hours of operation.

Offering a copy of this book to an angry passenger brought me to a hearing with charges of unsafe behavior. But an angel was onboard at the time and filled out a courtesy card discounting everything on the complaint against me. This dovetails nicely with the last chapter When Worlds Collide. A passenger had my back. Emotional availability is lacking when an argument arises, so the key is to be spiritually fit and aware and spot trouble before it happens. Thus the term Dao, which means a manner or way of living. If I can keep my way attuned to what I have been taught and understand why the rules are here to protect me, I am on the right path.

Five new chapters have been added, and repetitious content has been reduced. I am trying to keep interest past the first 20 pages. Changes of bus line numbers such as the 71L becoming the 7R and 14R for 14L, for example, have been updated since the first printing in January of 2013.

My hope is that you pick this book back up after you put it down. Making time to read for most of us has become increasingly difficult in this electronic era of ‘convenience’.

Thanks for riding! Thanks for reading!

Driver Doug.

6.27.18

Preface

This book is to be read in short doses, such as a chapter a day, like in a meditation book. This explains why some common points come up in more than one chapter, and repeat. This was intentional. These chapters are more like a weekly blog on a social media website, and were posted as such to be like a topic of the day. So why did I write this book? If I learned anything from my grade school speech teacher, or my university creative writing professor, one of the first ups is: Who is your audience? I would say I have several groups of people in mind for this book. First, students in the training division who have recently applied for a job as a transit operator. Second, those considering a job for the city. And third, passengers who have wondered what we go through, or how do we handle doing such a job.

Then there are the tourists visiting our city who might want reading material on the flight to SFO, or perhaps my friends who grew up with me and wonder just what the heck my life is like here in San Francisco. And then the other more passive audience are those who still own cars, or drive most places to get around. It is my hope if I can get one more car off of the street because of this book, then I can feel like I am doing some good in getting this word out.

I enjoy the fact I don’t have a car. But I sure would love a Tesla. Or the new Ford Focus that gets 40 miles per. But just because I am happy our cars are becoming more efficient, it doesn’t mean I am going to lease or own one. The last group I have written this book for is for those who have cars and haven’t considered taking mass transit. I get people on my bus who have cars in the shop who try transit for the first time.

Taking my car to the shop was just another straw that broke my camel’s back in convincing me there had to be a better way to life. And this is what I have found here in this dense city. True, the cost of rent is high, but so are wages. By dumping the car, I found a higher standard of living than the supposed convenience of the suburbs and drive thru culture. A meal at an Olive Garden may be cheap compared to Squat and Gobble here in the city, but at what cost does this Olive Garden meal imply?

I don’t trust our representatives to make the changes in transport we so desperately need because they are driving around looking for parking also. Most of my coworkers drive cars and they don’t want to pay for parking either. But the notion parking should be free is killing this city and other cities on the West Coast. The traffic on I-5 from San Diego to Seattle is just awful. I don’t know when the tipping point will be reached, but it is coming. And I hope this book helps.

I don’t have a car so I don’t pay for parking. I don’t pay for gas, new car battery, jumper cables, car insurance, deductibles, oil, brakes, or checkups. I have two bikes and the repair bill rarely goes over 150 dollars. For 150 dollars I get all new brakes and cables. And these last for over two years. I just don’t see that in owning or caring for a car. I walk or ride to work, and my bus is all-electric. The electricity comes from hydroelectric power, so no carbon emissions result. This is clean living. I am trying to breathe deep and appreciate the fresh air after a rainstorm. Hopefully, this book is a breath of fresh air.

Thanks for riding an electric bus!

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Douglas Meriwether,

San Francisco

November 5, 2012

I’d Never Do Your Job

I come from a background where money may not be the root of all evil, and it was acknowledged that it did indeed grow on trees, but that there were two types of money: Good money and bad money. You never wanted to throw good money after bad. And there was a nuance between money earned and money given. Or money found by luck, or money made easy. I never heard too much about money made easy. Honest money made was the best money. A penny saved was a penny earned. But, boy did that sound like a lot of plodding and not too much fun. So it should come as no surprise, if I worked hard to make money, it should therefore be good money. I was pleased to find work as a transit operator in the city by the bay, the Bagdad by the bay, the city that never sleeps, which was a hard job but a good paying job. I hit the family ancestral jackpot. I was making good money at a hard job in line with my family history.

But I noticed early on in my Muni riding days, that some drivers looked relatively relaxed, and nothing seemed to phase them. And some were actually fun to talk to. And that there did seem to be a way in which to make their work look easy and relaxing, and yet is a high paying job. So the seed was planted early on that this might be a good job for me. As a Gemini sun sign, transportation and continual movement fits my sign.

My 4th grade art project was a drawing of the silver GM coaches that serviced the NY Port Authority from Jersey during the 60’s. Bus Driver is a job I have desired since the fourth grade. I have heard those who are successful in their jobs later in life, had a passion for those activities or skills from an early age.

But unlike Civil Engineer, Medical Doctor, Dentist, or Lawyer, Bus Driver did not seem to appear on the success roster. But I didn’t really care. Ralph Kramden was my hero. I saw no matter how half baked an idea was that I could hatch, as long as I had my friends, and made a connection with others, everything would turn out okay. When Jackie Gleason would exclaim, How Sweet it Is! I got it. I guess you could say the in a way, The Honeymooners was my imprint version of The Wonder Years, many followed in their youth in the eighties.

Fast forward to San Francisco and the late nineties. Newly elected Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr., Esq., was mandated to fix Muni in his first 100 days, and he took immediate action to hire more bus drivers. I went to the Moscone job fair and put in to get on the list. Finally, at age 39, I was finally making a plan about choosing a job that seemed more like a career or occupation than just a need to get another paycheck fast. I encourage anyone living paycheck to paycheck, or between jobs, to pause and look deep about what kind of service they want to provide to others. I would sit near the front seat when I rode the bus with Grandma. I liked it when the bus driver would talk to me. I still do, conditions permitting, and I feel like I am actually in a recruitment mode. Early first impressions can and do have a lasting effect on our life decisions later on down the road. Get them when they are young, and so I present myself as doing a fun job.

The first thing that comes up about why someone would not want my job is, the people. But where in the world do we not have a job involving other people? And if I am to be resentment free, can I not take quiet time every day to see what amends I can make to determine my part in any negative reaction? To me this is where the rubber meets the road: The path that separates the men from the boys. I see so many miserably quiet lives departing the bus after work daily I sometimes feel like I am the only happy bozo on the bus! Gee, is it that bad? And if I smile, I try to break the grimace of the boarding face. Usually it works.

I guess I need to do more research about why someone would never do my job, but I guess in a way it adds to my job security. Most people don’t realize once the mental hurdles are pushed into the background, it is the physical stress that can take its toll and put continued work in to jeopardy. Stopping and starting, braking on a downhill with a full load: day in and day out. As Harrison Ford quipped in one of his action movies after incredible odds, It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.

When my body starts to give me pain in a certain area, I take care of it immediately! I take care of the warning signs before I can barely step off the bus at the terminal because my hams and quads are all locked up. Repetitive stress requires repetitive stretching and massage.

Just as I have learned to eat on the fly, or pick food choices which are simple to munch on with only a few minutes of recovery time, so too, must we stretch and find a trainer or massage therapist we can meet on a regular basis to prevent our bodies from shutting down. I find myself going to Yoga on a regular basis. Going on leave is not the answer. Shutting down and doing nothing is never a good idea. So as long as we keep moving, we stay employed and enjoy the benefits of steady pay.

I envy musicians and artists who can bring home the bacon with their creative abilities, but also do other part time jobs to stay busy. There can be freedom in scheduling a week with personal choices rather than the ball and chain of a railway timetable, but I guess each lifestyle has it ups and its downs. There are those of us with stable government jobs who would do well to understand the creative mix of those who rotate with three part time jobs and free lance, to make ends meet. The lack of understanding about what needs be done to be work flexible, might lower tensions among the classes of workers who board the bus. Getting to the