Last updated November 25, 2010 7:49 p.m. PT
The grizzled, veteran, I've-seen-it-all Metro bus driver is a public employee that thousands of us come to know and appreciate during times when Seattle is otherwise hot under the collar over a cold snowstorm.
Owners of St. Clouds Restaurant in Madrona recently sought, without success, to get Metro to move its stop for No. 3 buses from out front of the premises. Metro said no on grounds of cost.
'Was having a wonderful dinner at St. Clouds on Monday night, gazing out the window at a scene of howling winds and blowing snow that would usually be associated with eastern Montana or the Dakotas.
Out of the whiteness came a chained-up No. 3 bus, which had negotiated the Jackson-Jefferson-Cherry snow route as broken down No. 2 buses (and abandoned cars) littered nearby Union Street. Our view was blocked, but Madrona was connected to the outside world.
The No. 3 was there Tuesday morning, the driver welcoming infrequent bus travelers begging for mercy and without the right change. He joked about bad communication with headquarters the night before, and buses jackknifed all over the hilly terrain of King County.
A few stops along the Jefferson-Jackson route -- appropriate name for a link to Democratic neighborhoods -- he lowered the access ramp for a young mother with two babies and a two-seat carriage. The passengers made funny faces at the kids. The driver later helped an elderly passenger on board.
On the ride home, our driver required the patience of Job. "Does this bus go past Virginia Mason Hospital?" asked a rider as we turned off Jackson onto Broadway. Another asked why buses weren't using James Street.
Bus rides reminded me of a quip once made by Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson: "Your public servants serve you well, sometimes better than you deserve."
Don't even mutter such sentiments under your breath at a Tea Party rally today. Or try giving that answer to bitter old guys who rant against public employees in my e-mails. They decry city, county and state workers for having the nerve, gall and presumption to bargain collectively for a living wage and health benefits -- and ignore give-backs and wage freezes to which public employee unions have agreed.
Yet, we demand public services that work, and yowl when a rush hour snowstorm -- I count three in the past two decades -- snarls traffic and creates hours-long bus rides. School administrators are excoriated for not letting out classes. Metro is condemned for not chaining up buses.
Of course, as we saw two Decembers ago, an amply-warned government can botch response, a transportation director can decamp for Portland in mid-crisis, and a mayor can seem smugly oblivious to suffering masses. Mayor Greg Nickels gave himself a "B" on snow response. Voters flunked him a few months later.
The latest storm saw Mother Nature flummox a new snow plan. Mayor McGinn has been spot-on in his response, acknowledging mistakes and promising a review when raw 40's weather resumes.
It doesn't stop the carping, the Schrammie from KOMO or the bizarre eco-fascist Publicola commentary that faulted the city for daring to be pro-active and use salt on roadways. Christopher Frizzelle in The Stranger went on a rant about the lack of open liquor stores.
O.K., so Makers Mark wasn't on the shelf at the Broadway Liquor store. But the city has gotten itself functioning again a lot quicker this November than two years ago. Civic spirit took no time off. Eighty citizens and five Seattle City Council members braved the swirling snow for a Monday night hearing on south-of-downtown planning.
Two years ago, this column railed over the city's glacial response to the deep freeze, and downtown streets whose snow ruts suggested the Russian Front in World War II.
But a No. 3 Metro bus and its mellow driver can sometimes change your way of looking at things. Both were welcome sights, outflanking the hills and carrying people home.
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