Miracle on the Bus - Part 2 of 3

We pulled into the deserted Calgary bus station around midnight where several security guards advised us of the security measures. Firstly, all of the doors would be kept locked all night and no-one would be permitted to leave without permission. Secondly, this was a no smoking building. No smoking allowed- period. One our three smokers from the back of our bus asked if he could just nip-out for a quick smoke and come right back in again. The head guard said that if he wanted to leave the station, one of the guards would let him out but he would not be permitted to re-enter. The guy had a fit saying that he couldn't go all night without a smoke. I felt sorry for him. As a last straw he asked if he could have a drag in the wash-room. The guard said that if he was caught smoking in the wash-room he would be evicted immediately and not allowed back in until the next morning.



 The bus company offered us a free breakfast; priority seating on the next bus to Regina and full re-ticketing to update our schedules. The guy in the red cap argued with the ticket person for quite a while but he still managed to get on the bus. Our new driver reminded us of the non-smoking rules as we left Calgary. Nature called and I could not put off going to the bathroom any longer so I drew a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst. What a pleasant surprise! It was as clean and shiny as any hospital surgical operating theatre. Walls and sink were lined with polished stainless steel and it was well supplied with every convenience including deodorizers and hand-sanitizers.

The three smokers from the back row bolted to the front door with their cigarettes and lighters in hand when the driver informed us of the next upcoming rest stop.Inside the small building was a nice young man and a two-pot coffee maker to serve sixty-two caffeine-starved passengers. It was comical. The young man would empty one coffee pot by serving one customer at a time including making change as necessary. He would then leave it empty on the counter while he served the second coffee pot one cup at a time bearing in mind that sixty-two passengers had ten minutes in the line-up to buy a coffee. Do you see the folly in this? I said to the young man in a loud voice. “Why don't you fill the second pot and start it brewing before you start serving customers with the first pot. It'll go twice as fast that way.” Two adult female passengers dashed behind the counter to give him a hand. He took the money and gave change while the girls did the rest like experts. This isn't rocket science you know. Everyone got a coffee but the ten minute deadline had stretched to thirty minutes.

Even though we were in the middle of no-where the driver pulled off the Trans-Canada highway and started to weave his way through narrow country roads and a few tiny villages. I noticed a small freight and mail pick-up station. Bus-company workers attached a sizeable trailer to the back of our bus. Our driver was on the phone inside most of the time. Once we were back on the Trans-Canada highway I noticed swirling wisps of red lights oscillating around the inside of our bus. There were no traffic lights or stop lights and I was not able to figure out what they were. We pulled into an empty parking lot. Three police officers came on board; walked directly to the back seat where the three young men had been smoking and escorted them off the bus. That's the last we saw of them. They they had been sneaking cigarettes for most of the way since Calgary and this was against the law.


I met Charles Regina. He looked clean-cut and he was well spoken. He was the first passenger sitting next to me that could hold an intelligent conversation. I told him about my motorcycle trips and my blogs. They got his attention because he was studying journalism. We snoozed on and off. It was only when he turned his head and his scarf shifted that I noticed he was wearing giant wooden earrings. The holes in them were the size of a Canadian quarter or a Ten-penny piece and his ear-lobe had been stretched obscenely out of shape to hold them in place. “Oh My God not another one “ I thought, but I decided to hold my tongue. Later on he bought some snacks. When we got going again I noticed that his earring was missing. I really tried hard to restrain myself, but I was about to implode. “You've lost one of your jungle earrings” I said. “No problem” he replied. He opened his knapsack and took out a pillow case stuffed full of similar earrings. He simply replaced it to my chagrin and fell asleep.


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