Over the River C
October 4, 2025
Highlights and lowlights from my 100th two-wheeled trek to the Great State of New York:
1. One of the passengers on the #45 regional bus took advantage of all the extra layover time at the outlet mall on account of the Fairview Mall stop being skipped to get out and have a smoke. Then when re-boarding, he kindly brought a trail of smoke back inside with him. Thanks again Niagara Transit for “simplifying my ride.”
2. On their website, Niagara Transit asks passengers to use headphones when listening to music or watching videos. Keep the volume low to avoid disturbing others, they say. Yet in this case, it was the driver who was blasting loud music throughout the entire ride to the Falls.
3. Given the historic nature of this, my 100th two-wheeled crossing to the Great State of New York, I had expected streamers or to have to pledge allegiance to the flag when I got to the customs booth. Maybe even be handed an application for permanent residency or citizenship. But instead, I just got a couple of simple questions and was quickly waved through. Perhaps it had something to do with the government shutdown, of which I remain envious. I only wish our government would shut down.
4. By a stroke of luck, I was able to catch the #77 express bus to Buffalo on Third Street, though I had to flag the driver down even though I was standing at the stop. But after the driver got on the Interstate, I quickly realized that the big “77” on the sign didn’t stand for the route number, but rather the speed he’d be traveling at. Not that I could say the driver operated the bus unsafely, but at such a high speed, it kind of reaches a point where it automatically becomes unsafe.
5. Soon after boarding, I listened as a guy seated near the front was on the phone. “I’m on the bus, Gus,” he said. He went on to talk about having been threatened by someone. “Don’t even think about calling the cops,” he said to the guy who had threatened him. “I’ve got a baseball bat.”
6. When on the Niagara Scenic Parkway, the driver is supposed to return to Buffalo Avenue for one last stop before getting on the bridge. On this occasion, however, he instead took the on-ramp directly to the bridge, potentially leaving some passengers in the lurch, something a black guy seated in the back told the driver. “You missed the stop, man!” he yelled. In my experience, one or more passengers almost always get on at that stop.
7. Leaving the Black Rock Riverside transit hub, I noticed a new sign outside the nearby McDonald’s stating that they now accept EBT, one of the most popular methods of payment in WNY. Looks like the state’s welfare system needs the same kind of reforms recently put in at the federal level, where recipients can no longer purchase junk food with welfare money.
8. Upon disembarking at the Metropolitan Transportation Center, there was an unmistakable odor of oats in the air. It was probably from the General Mills plant I went past in my last visit to Buffalo.
9. Need a shower?
10. Just what they need is more socialism . . .
11. Piss on it, just go . . .
12. I was surprised there wasn’t more vulgarity on this display on Main Street . . .
13. An interesting set of bumper stickers on the back of this car parked on Utica Street, which says a lot about its owner. An insufferable recent graduate of the UB indoctrination camp who has multiple tattoos, votes Democrat and is shot up with a shitload of poison.
14. I stopped for a break at the Remedy House, a trendy cafe where I got the impression having at least one tattoo and nose ring are conditions of employment. I also got the impression that I would have been refused service had I been wearing my “Make America Great Again” hat, but not before a dozen people, likely closely politically aligned with the owner of the aforementioned car and fellow sufferers of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sustained severe anxiety or heart attacks which would have required urgent hospitalization.
15. Seated next to me was a younger guy who took time away from reading a textbook and taking notes to wolf down an egg on a roll, the cafe’s signature dish, and a sticky bun, all washed down with two coffees.
16. Among those waiting in line was this dude with black painted fingernails, a nose ring, a tattoo, a thin mustache, shaved legs and a high-pitched voice. An unmistakable member of the LGBTQ+ community. Perhaps he was transitioning. Or something. He stood around for a while, then placed an order for an iced coffee or latte and an egg on a roll. He proceeded to play around on his phone for several minutes while waiting for his order.
17. Also among those waiting in line was this short woman with pink hair, a nose ring and an earring so heavy it’s probably going to eventually tear her ear lobe off.
18. Among those parked nearby was this car with GSNY plates, a plate cover from a popular WNY dealership and a bumper sticker that reads, “I never leave Rhode Island.” I guess Rhode Island wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
19. More gayness on display in Allentown . . .
20. Admit it. The party isn’t for your dog. It’s for you.
21. Why, pray tell, is this something to brag about?
22. Another eclectic hairdo on display at the MTC . . .
23. Also at the MTC was a black DWAM™ toting a rainbow-colored suitcase who promptly left the terminal to catch an out-of-town bus.
24. Plastered on the back of many buses were ads for the many harm reduction vending machines located across WNY which dispense fentanyl test strips and naloxone kits.
25. Ahead of me in line at the toll booth at Checkpoint Charlie the Rainbow Bridge was a cyclistette who seemed awfully discombobulated. After getting through the gate, she stopped in front of the booth and was fiddling about with a few things while checking something on her phone. It was probably why the girl inside the booth seemed surprised when I was ready with exact change.
26. I don’t know who was responsible for this artwork on the side of the Niagara Falls (Canada) Bus Terminal, but the caricature on the right looks nothing like me . . .
27. As we left the terminal and headed south on Stanley, the GO driver, who was dutifully wearing an Every Child Matters button on his reflective vest, genuflected. Then after leaving the 420 & Stanley stop, he welcomed all of us on board, giving a special welcome who are new to the area and to the service, and pointed out all the sights we can expect to see while crossing the skyways in St. Catharines and Burlington.
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