If you read yesterday’s blog, you know that I went to Arlington Park Racecourse as part of a group of realtors from a local Michigan real estate office. We traveled by luxury charter bus; and I must say it was a wonderful experience. Not only the bus, but also the entire day.
It’s the bus, however, that intrigued me most. First, it was the most luxurious bus I’d ever been on. Oh, I’ve traveled Greyhound and other less prominent carriers, but I’d never been party to chartering a fancy bus before.
The seats were comfortable in more than one position. The windows were large, tinted to deflect the sun’s rays, and equipped with shades to pull down in case one’s side of the bus was toward the offending sun and the tinted windows weren’t strong enough for the job. The chrome restroom beat those on trains and planes, hands down.
But what I noticed most was that passengers sat high, as if they were riding in a large SUV. For someone like me who drives a small Neon, the view from the seat was very different. For instance, as we whizzed by on various expressways, I could look into truck drivers’ compartments at eye level, at smaller cars from an above-advantage, and at the road ahead without obstruction. I found the truck drivers’ compartments the most interesting.
What struck me most was how many couples there were in the driver’s seat. We saw several women behind the steering wheel, keeping pace with traffic, while their husbands (or, if not husbands, then certainly male driver companions) snoozed on the passenger side. At the same time we also saw men driving while their women slept.
I never thought about this before; but, perhaps in this day and age of expanding gasoline prices, the best way to make a living as a trucker is to be part of a team, a team whose other member is your mate.
Another thing I noticed was how courteous truck drivers and bus drivers were with each other. I am not sure the same courtesy is extended between big vehicle drivers and other cars like my Neon. But it was nice to see where courtesy does come into play. Finally, when I waved at the truck drivers from the same height, either male or female, they responded in kind. They do the same thing when I’m in my Neon, but it was comforting to see that they do it across the board. Maybe that’s the sign of a true trucker!
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