Noisy, Pickled Sardines
OPEN: JANUS FILE #0388
Another Kentucky Derby has come and gone. And I am certain that throughout the city, more than a few people are breathing a sigh of relief, now that Louisville's annual descent into insanity has ended once again.
My only complaint with Derby is that the Louisville Free Public Library is closed. I could happily spend a good part of the day at a couple of different branches, but I don't have that option. Instead, I usually spend at least part of the day bookstore hopping -- and therein lies the problem.
Trying to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B on TARC really isn't that difficult -- that is, until you have to start factoring in all the people who will be using the bus to get to Churchill Downs. People who don't normally use the bus, except for occasions like this one. People who have already begun their Derby Day partying before they get to the bus stop.
In other words, a bunch of mostly young, noisy drunks.
As I have mentioned a couple of times in years past, one of the TARC routes I frequently use, the #29, is one of the routes that goes close to Churchill Downs. And riding the #29 westbound from St. Matthews to the Highlands early enough on the first Saturday in May is not something for the faint of heart. By the time the bus reaches the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Bardstown Road, it has become a sardine can, and most of the sardines are drunk and noisy. I've never asked any of the drivers on that route if they get combat pay for driving on Derby Day, but they probably should.
I honestly thought that this year, I would not be encountering the sardines. Yes, I would be using the #29, but I would be going to St. Matthews -- away from the racetrack. I figured that by the time I boarded the bus for my return trip, it would be close enough to post time for the Derby that all of the drunk and noisy sardines would (more than likely) be in the infield, getting drunker and noisier, and being the problem of Churchill Downs and not TARC.
I overlooked one little detail. I had neglected to take into account people trying to make a connection with any of the routes going to Churchill Downs.
My first stop of the day had been The Great Escape. From there, I was going to pick up the #29, and ride it to St. Matthews for some further bookstore browsing.
When I left The Great Escape, I saw that I had enough time to catch a bus and ride it up to Bardstown Road and Eastern Parkway, and catch the eastbound #29 there. (There is a point on the route that's actually only a few blocks away from The Great Escape, but I usually use that one when I won't have as long a wait at the stop.) The bus arrived after a few minutes. It didn't look any more crowded than it normally does on a Saturday, and I was anticipating an uneventful ride to Eastern Parkway.
That didn't last long. Just a couple of blocks later, at Bardstown Road and Douglass Boulevard, about a dozen or so passengers boarded. They were all in their early 20s, mostly female, and they were already well on their way to inebriation.
You got it -- drunk and noisy.
And getting more so by the minute. I spotted at least two open cans of beer, which is a clear violation of TARC regulations. The driver could have put the violators off the bus, but I'm guessing that he didn't notice them -- or at least chose not to notice them.
Fortunately, the bus wasn't crowded. Once these revelers had boarded, it certainly sounded as though it were crowded. In fact, it sounded quite a bit more crowded than it actually was.
In addition to being drunk and noisy, this group also seemed to have little if any sense of direction and/or knowledge of TARC's routes. They knew they were going to Churchill Downs; they just didn't know which bus to take, and where to catch it. That's when I said to one of them, "I'm getting off at the same stop you'll need to get off." And the driver also told one of the group that she would let them know when they needed to get off. (I'm guessing that she was wanting to get rid of them as quickly as possible.)
When that group boarded, one thought flashed through my mind. How many more are we going to get? Much to my surprise, there were only about three or four more passengers boarding before Eastern Parkway. Probably also much to the relief of the driver; I talked with him briefly, and he mentioned that his previous run at one point had been packed to the point where he couldn't get anyone else in. (Been there, ridden that, and it's not fun trying to get off the bus when it's that packed.)
I think the driver was quite relieved when he got to Eastern Parkway. (I know I was.) He wanted to get these drunks off so fast that he opened the door as soon as the bus cleared the intersection, instead of waiting until he reached the stop a few more meters away. Not that I objected; it made it easier for me to reach my stop as well. I was already near the door, so I was the first one off. The drunks were piling off the bus as I was taking my bike off the rack, and I pointed them to the stop they needed to get to the track. I then crossed the street to pick up the #29 going in the opposite direction.
My ride to St. Matthews was nice and peaceful. And my best guess is that my return trip a few hours later was pretty close to the time The Kentucky Derby was running. The trip back to the Highlands had about the same number of people it usually does on a Saturday afternoon -- and all of them looked to be well and truly sober.
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0388
Another Kentucky Derby has come and gone. And I am certain that throughout the city, more than a few people are breathing a sigh of relief, now that Louisville's annual descent into insanity has ended once again.
My only complaint with Derby is that the Louisville Free Public Library is closed. I could happily spend a good part of the day at a couple of different branches, but I don't have that option. Instead, I usually spend at least part of the day bookstore hopping -- and therein lies the problem.
Trying to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B on TARC really isn't that difficult -- that is, until you have to start factoring in all the people who will be using the bus to get to Churchill Downs. People who don't normally use the bus, except for occasions like this one. People who have already begun their Derby Day partying before they get to the bus stop.
In other words, a bunch of mostly young, noisy drunks.
As I have mentioned a couple of times in years past, one of the TARC routes I frequently use, the #29, is one of the routes that goes close to Churchill Downs. And riding the #29 westbound from St. Matthews to the Highlands early enough on the first Saturday in May is not something for the faint of heart. By the time the bus reaches the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Bardstown Road, it has become a sardine can, and most of the sardines are drunk and noisy. I've never asked any of the drivers on that route if they get combat pay for driving on Derby Day, but they probably should.
I honestly thought that this year, I would not be encountering the sardines. Yes, I would be using the #29, but I would be going to St. Matthews -- away from the racetrack. I figured that by the time I boarded the bus for my return trip, it would be close enough to post time for the Derby that all of the drunk and noisy sardines would (more than likely) be in the infield, getting drunker and noisier, and being the problem of Churchill Downs and not TARC.
I overlooked one little detail. I had neglected to take into account people trying to make a connection with any of the routes going to Churchill Downs.
My first stop of the day had been The Great Escape. From there, I was going to pick up the #29, and ride it to St. Matthews for some further bookstore browsing.
When I left The Great Escape, I saw that I had enough time to catch a bus and ride it up to Bardstown Road and Eastern Parkway, and catch the eastbound #29 there. (There is a point on the route that's actually only a few blocks away from The Great Escape, but I usually use that one when I won't have as long a wait at the stop.) The bus arrived after a few minutes. It didn't look any more crowded than it normally does on a Saturday, and I was anticipating an uneventful ride to Eastern Parkway.
That didn't last long. Just a couple of blocks later, at Bardstown Road and Douglass Boulevard, about a dozen or so passengers boarded. They were all in their early 20s, mostly female, and they were already well on their way to inebriation.
You got it -- drunk and noisy.
And getting more so by the minute. I spotted at least two open cans of beer, which is a clear violation of TARC regulations. The driver could have put the violators off the bus, but I'm guessing that he didn't notice them -- or at least chose not to notice them.
Fortunately, the bus wasn't crowded. Once these revelers had boarded, it certainly sounded as though it were crowded. In fact, it sounded quite a bit more crowded than it actually was.
In addition to being drunk and noisy, this group also seemed to have little if any sense of direction and/or knowledge of TARC's routes. They knew they were going to Churchill Downs; they just didn't know which bus to take, and where to catch it. That's when I said to one of them, "I'm getting off at the same stop you'll need to get off." And the driver also told one of the group that she would let them know when they needed to get off. (I'm guessing that she was wanting to get rid of them as quickly as possible.)
When that group boarded, one thought flashed through my mind. How many more are we going to get? Much to my surprise, there were only about three or four more passengers boarding before Eastern Parkway. Probably also much to the relief of the driver; I talked with him briefly, and he mentioned that his previous run at one point had been packed to the point where he couldn't get anyone else in. (Been there, ridden that, and it's not fun trying to get off the bus when it's that packed.)
I think the driver was quite relieved when he got to Eastern Parkway. (I know I was.) He wanted to get these drunks off so fast that he opened the door as soon as the bus cleared the intersection, instead of waiting until he reached the stop a few more meters away. Not that I objected; it made it easier for me to reach my stop as well. I was already near the door, so I was the first one off. The drunks were piling off the bus as I was taking my bike off the rack, and I pointed them to the stop they needed to get to the track. I then crossed the street to pick up the #29 going in the opposite direction.
My ride to St. Matthews was nice and peaceful. And my best guess is that my return trip a few hours later was pretty close to the time The Kentucky Derby was running. The trip back to the Highlands had about the same number of people it usually does on a Saturday afternoon -- and all of them looked to be well and truly sober.
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0388