Bus Stop

[Carousel]

Bus Stop


She looked up past the street lights to the sodium sky, it was raining harder now, bouncing up from pavement flagstones, gurgling down kerbstone gutters.
It had been a bad day, Old Mother Price making her snide remarks, re-arranging her counter display.
“No girl, we do it this way at Hamlings, how many times do I have to tell you?”
Old cow, she didn’t even have the excuse of the monthly curse, she was way past that.

. Two more days to pay day so The Prince and the Showgirl will have to wait. Gosh, I wish that I had blond hair like Marilyn, so sexy; could dye it I suppose but mum and dad would go ape. She peeked out again from the shelter of the shop doorway. Where’s that bloody bus she asked herself for the third time.

At last the red Double Decker pulled up at the stop with a sigh of air brakes, she tugged up her tight pencil slim skirt, pulled herself onto the platform and climbed the stairs to the upper deck.
She chose a window seat and opened her bag delving through an assortment of makeup bits and pieces to find a pack of Senior Service.

The bus continued up Duke Street, turned left into Hope Street and stopped. She looked down at the huddled figures waiting their turn to board the bus. A broad hipped woman carrying two shopping bags squeezed herself painfully up the narrow centre aisle to the front of the bus.
He collapsed in the seat next to her and shook his head like a soaked terrier.
“Do you mind?”
“Oh sorry, it’s raining out there” he grinned.
“Observant aren’t you?”
“Observant? Hey, that’s good”
She stubbed the butt of the cigarette on the ashtray on the back of the front seat and looked at his reflection in the darkened window. Tall, thin with pimples; Oh god and at least another mile to go.
“Do you go all the way?” he asked
“Don’t be filthy”
He laughed out loud.
“I can’t believe I said that. What I meant was---
“I know what you meant and it’s none of your business”
The bus stopped again outside Armstrong’s factory. The sound from the stair well of climbing boots was deafening like a stampede of Rhinos; the accompanying stench of oil and rain soaked clothing was overpowering.

The bus at last turned right and geared down to start the climb up Brownlow Hill.
Thank God just one more stop.
She looked across at the youth beside her as he raised his hand to his cheek. Oh no; he’s not going to pick his spots is he? I’ll scream, I will.
“What’s you’re name”
“Pardon”
“Your name, I write poetry, would you like a poem just for you?”
“No, excuse me, this is my stop”
He stood up.
“A song then”
As she squeezed past him he looked down at the silver name tag on the plastic shoulder bag and grinned.
“Michele, got it; don’t forget mine, its John, John Lennon”
Half way down the aisle she turned back to him
“How could I forget, don’t tell me, you’ll be famous one day”
He grinned back at her.
“Bet on it Doll”

[DATo]

Ahhhhhh .... very nice. Very nice indeed ... AND ... my favorite Beatle song too. Would you happen to know if that was really where Lennon got the inspiration for the song?

Loved it !!!!

Is Senior Service a brand of cigarettes there?

[Hawkman]

Yes it was very evocative and the well-timed payoff was nicely realised. Funny, but the idea of a historical bus ride flitted across my consciousness a couple of days ago. The smells, the sounds, the dampness... you captured it all. A couple of things though: this part of the sentence, "The sound from the stair well of climbing boots was deafening like a stampede of Rhinos;" might, perhaps, have been better worded thus:

"The sound of boots climbing the stair well was deafening, like a stampede of Rhinos;"

One other tiny observation. Given that this tale is set in either the late 50s or early 60s there is a tiny anachronism which grabs my attention. As far as I remember, sodium street lighting was not in use at this time, thus the "sodium sky" gives me pause. However, My memory is not perfect. Was there sodium street lighting in Liverpool at this time? I'm prepared to be enlightened :D This was a very enjoyable read.

DAto, yes, Senior Service was, and may still be, a brand of cigarette. The packets had a picture of sailing ship (or sometimes an anchor) framed in an elliptical laurel wreath surmounted by a naval crown, as I remember.



Live and be well - H

[Carousel]

Glad you enjoyed this little piece set in the 60s that took a bit of research IE the streets mentioned are in Liverpool and Marilyn is of course is Marilyn Monroe

Would you happen to know if that was really where Lennon got the inspiration for the song?-- I would love to think so.

Senior Service are a brand name for cigarettes, still available over here I think.

I would like to think that many celebrities had similar encounters before they became famous, which was the inspiration for this story.

Thanks for reading.

[Carousel]

Yes I agree the wording is better, thanks

On street lighting the only info I have is the following-- Liverpool followed Purley Way in 1935 with the first installation being on Queens Drive, Mossley Hill, using 100W (later 85W) and 150W lamps (later 140W — the wattages of sodium lamps were re-rated in 1938)

So yes, sodium lamps were the street lamps of that time period but I would imagine more powerful wattage lamps are used today.

Thanks for taking the time to read and for your comments.

[DATo]

Glad you enjoyed this little piece set in the 60s that took a bit of research IE the streets mentioned are in Liverpool and Marilyn is of course is Marilyn Monroe

Would you happen to know if that was really where Lennon got the inspiration for the song?-- I would love to think so.

Senior Service are a brand name for cigarettes, still available over here I think.

I would like to think that many celebrities had similar encounters before they became famous, which was the inspiration for this story.

Thanks for reading.

There is a scene in the movie Forest Gump where Lieutenant Dan is being pushed across a busy New York street in his wheelchair by Gump when they are almost hit by a taxi. Lieutenant Dan slaps his hands down on the hood of the car and shouts, "I'm WALK'IN HERE !!! I'm WALK'IN HERE !!! Now maybe I am just imagining things but at this point in the movie Gump had just left the taping of a television interview featuring himself and, coincidentally, John Lennon now that I think of it. I always wondered how many people understood while watching this scene in Forest Gump that this very scene actually took place in the movie Midnight Cowboy starring Jon Voight and Dustan Hoffman just the way it was portrayed in Forest Gump. Voight and Hoffman WERE almost hit by a cab while filming Midnight Cowboy and Hoffman said exactly what Lt. Dan says. This was not staged, it happened by accident as Voight and Hoffman were crossing a street in New York while the camera filmed from far in the distance.

Well, given the fact that Gump had inadvertently affected history so many times in the past during the telling of his story I have always speculated that the intention of this scene in the screenplay was to suggest that somewhere on the busy New York street which we see in the scene in Gump was the real Dustan Hoffman who saw what Lieutenant Dan did, remembered it, and used it in his movie. Midnight Cowboy was filmed in 1968 - 1969 which was the approximate time frame of this portion of the movie.

I can see no other interpretation of why they would have used this scene in Forest Gump. I can't prove that this was the writers of FG intent but ... "I would love to think so."

[Hawkman]

Yes I agree the wording is better, thanks

On street lighting the only info I have is the following-- Liverpool followed Purley Way in 1935 with the first installation being on Queens Drive, Mossley Hill, using 100W (later 85W) and 150W lamps (later 140W — the wattages of sodium lamps were re-rated in 1938)

So yes, sodium lamps were the street lamps of that time period but I would imagine more powerful wattage lamps are used today.

Thanks for taking the time to read and for your comments.

Thanks for that, Carousel. Yes I checked that the lamps had been invented before posting my query, but my memory of the early 60s was that the distinct orange glow, which I associate with "sodium sky" was something I only really became aware of in the the 70s, doubtless, as you suggest, because of the increased power rating of the lamps. Of course, the fact that I lived in rural Dorset in the 60s may have something to do with my faulty memory. I was quite young at the time, but I remember old Mrs. Cammig coming into the local hardware store and complaining that she'd have to buy "some o' they new-fangled 'lectric bulbs." She was about to be connected to the national grid. She was still using oil lamps at the time! Such public lighting as there was lacked the distinctive sodium tint.

Always happy to expand my knowledge of useless snippets of info though :)

Live and be well - H

[free]

Nice story, indeed.

[MorningForger]

Paul wrote the majority of the song, "Michelle," but an interesting concept nonetheless.

[Carousel]

Lennon “I met a judy called Michelle on a bus yesterday”
Macca “Did you score
Lennon “Nah, she didn’t want to know”
Macca “Tough, still it’s an interesting name
Lennon “You think so?”
Macca “Yeah, it’s a good name for a song”
Lennon “Well you bloody write it, the cow blew me out”

[MorningForger]

Excellent!

[108 fountains]

I just thought I'd chime in quickly and say that I also enjoyed this little piece. The dialogue, the history and the sentiment "vont tres bien ensemble."

[AuntShecky]

I knew that this story was set in the past the minute I read how they were smoking on the bus. That's something you'll never see anywhere these days.


There is a scene in the movie Forest Gump where Lieutenant Dan is being pushed across a busy New York street in his wheelchair by Gump when they are almost hit by a taxi. Lieutenant Dan slaps his hands down on the hood of the car and shouts, "I'm WALK'IN HERE !!! I'm WALK'IN HERE !!! Now maybe I am just imagining things but at this point in the movie Gump had just left the taping of a television interview featuring himself and, coincidentally, John Lennon now that I think of it. I always wondered how many people understood while watching this scene in Forest Gump that this very scene actually took place in the movie Midnight Cowboy starring Jon Voight and Dustan Hoffman just the way it was portrayed in Forest Gump. Voight and Hoffman WERE almost hit by a cab while filming Midnight Cowboy and Hoffman said exactly what Lt. Dan says. This was not staged, it happened by accident as Voight and Hoffman were crossing a street in New York while the camera filmed from far in the distance.

Well, given the fact that Gump had inadvertently affected history so many times in the past during the telling of his story I have always speculated that the intention of this scene in the screenplay was to suggest that somewhere on the busy New York street which we see in the scene in Gump was the real Dustan Hoffman who saw what Lieutenant Dan did, remembered it, and used it in his movie. Midnight Cowboy was filmed in 1968 - 1969 which was the approximate time frame of this portion of the movie.

I can see no other interpretation of why they would have used this scene in Forest Gump. I can't prove that this was the writers of FG intent but ... "I would love to think so."

Yep. One of the prime elements of post-modern works is making references to other works of art . I like "Forrest Gump" but I think "Zelig" is a better movie.

This particular story, "Bus Stop" is also "post-modern" in its use of pop culture figures. The references to the two Marilyn Monroe movies are apt in that she has already established herself as a celebrity or "icon" whereas Lennon's claim to fame is just awakening. How many times have we heard (male) artists say theat they created their work because they wanted a piece of, uh, I mean wanted to impress some girl?

[Carousel]

Most of the short stories I write are set in the past for two reasons. One, I really enjoy doing the research that’s necessary in making the tale as authentic as possible and two I think the past offers the writer so much in the way of an interesting plot. For example even travel then was an adventure, who wouldn’t give their eye teeth to board the original Orient Express of the 1930s, cross the Atlantic in the Queens or the Normadie.
Ah dream on.
Thanks everyone once again for your helpful comments.

Cari.

[Joe Roberts]

A beautifully written piece with a great denouement. I remember when we were allowed to smoke on our public transport too, although ours in Australia was never as cold and damp as that of London or Liverpool in England. Nonetheless the stink was exactly as you mention.
Regards,
Joe