Today on the bus

There was an interview today, went well, I'll hear back in a week or so. Hopeful, hopeful.
That's not what I'm going to write about.
Instead, I'll write about the bus ride back home. Yes, I take the bus, for two reasons: 1) I'd rather not contribute to an environment where we'll be buying air tanks at Costco in a few years and 2) parking meters in downtown Sacramento use a method slightly less complicated than turning a redwood into a fleet of origami swans.
I clambered aboard said bus after standing outside under skies that were very overcast but thankfully not rainy. Why this was important is that the bus driver pulled up to the stop, then got out. Another driver got on, and then went through the following list of steps:
1) Check doors.
2) Move seat
3) Check ticket machine
4) Move seat again, this time side to side
5) Check that back door opens
6) Adjust rearview mirrors
7) Practice CPR 0n dummy (I think I saw him do this)
8) Seat? Adjust it to be sure
9) Hat could use adjusting too, now that I think of it
10) Remember side mirror. Adjust
11) Re-adjust rearview mirror to conform to side mirror
12) Inform bus HQ that per union rules, you are taking a 5-minute nap
13) Seat no good for sleeping, adjust again
To be honest, I sort of lost interest. Were I an impatient person, even rain wouldn't have bothered me because a bubble of righteous anger would've pushed the drops away.
Eventually, I got aboard. Soon behind me was a young man, with standard-issue earbud, droopy jeans, hoodie cap and, just to screw me up, a U.S. Navy lanyard coming out of his pocket.
He explained to the bus driver that he'd paid for an earlier bus of the same line, but that it broke down, and then drove off when he got off (instantly odd, as some sort of mechanical issue would normally not allow a prompt departure, unless it's a self-healing bus I've never heard of).
So, as a result, he did not want to pay again. The $2.25 bus fare did not seem steep, but perhaps the sailor he mugged didn't have any more money, the cheapskate.
The driver dutifully called the bus HQ about the situation, and relayed to the dignified young gentleman (no doubt knocking off a bit early from his profession as a corporate attorney) that no, he still had to cough up the $2.25.
A spirited conversation ensued, with the driver insisting on a fare, and the future governor, nay president, insisting that, no, he wouldn't pay twice. Curiously, he did not invoke his (presumed) U.S. Navy credentials. "I didn't sit in a sub in the Persian Gulf to pay twice on your stupid bus!"
Other bus passengers began their own assessments of the situation, with at least one person pointing out that should the cops be summoned, they were unlikely to take the Mensa intern's side.
The idea that cops could show up interested me, as in my unemployed state, I've gained a new appreciation for COPS, the TV show. It used to be, I'd avoid the show because it felt brutish, and sort of tawdry. Since being unemployed, I've come to a new realization: My life may be bad, but at least I remember to put on a shirt before I start drinking.
After a few minutes of debate worthy of the ancient Greeks, the bus driver was informed by his HQ overlords that the situation wasn't worth escalating further, and allowed the enterprising fresh-faced stalwart to take his seat, amid a flood of muttering to himself.
As for me, I was just happy that the entire episode finished before another union-mandated bus driver nap.