Standard Barer

A riddle: What's never there when you need it but always in the way? Give up? It's a bus.

Pity the poor MTA bus driver for what he has to deal with. Traffic, sure, but also suicidal pedestrians, taxi drivers, people asking for directions, and those who just refuse, on principle, to use the center door to exit. And all that's on a good day.

Q: How many American flags do MTA buses boast?
A: Two. One on either of the bus's rear-end most windows.

I do like the way the flags look from inside, sort of translucid and diaphonous. But I am bound to question the MTA's placement of its behavioral rules. Not that I'm an advocate of spitting on public transportation, but if the flag is meant to be a symbol of anything, it's freedom--after all, it's not "I pledge allegiance to no smoking, spitting or radio playing..."

No Stairway?!