Let the Blatherskite begin!

I work in public transportation, and I maintain two websites, so consequently I get all the emails from people who are upset, confused, or just plain, well, "stoopid." I fell in love with the word "blatherskite" when I first heard it at the county spelling bee that my son, then in 5th grade, was in (he ended tied for 5th place by the way, out on the word "acrocyanosis"--did I mention he was in 5TH GRADE!?!)

Well, blatherskite often comes to my mind to describe some of the emails I get...so, I thought I'd start compiling some of them, as well as other Remarkably Stupid Moments in Life, my own as well as those of others. I'd hate for all of this codswallop to be forgotten, because it can be such a great source of entertainment!

So, here's the first, not because it's the best, but just the most recent. It came from an individual who is a teacher in higher education. Their email is in purple, my thoughts are in blue, and comments from other co-workers are in green.

I would like information about ... routes. I went to this page and could not find any information. The link that looked like it would work (in small print way at the bottom of the page) was not active.
[NOTE: this was simply the wrong url, and they never responded to my request for information as to where they got the link from--but having been on the bus that morning they might have noticed the big reflective vinyl sign with our website on it]
I rode the bus for the first time in a long time today and ended up walking a lot more than I expected, based on a map I had seen. I had surgery and should not be walking that far. The info I received stated I should tell the driver I need to stop at *****. I told him that and he drove right past it. When and how many times do I need to tell a driver that. [Turns out, they did tell the driver when they got on, but this was a good 30 minutes before the bus arrived where they wanted to get off--yet he was apparently surprised that the operator didn't recall which each of the 20-30 passengers wanted to go.]
And no, I don't like to talk to the drivers because none of them speak loudly enough to be heard over the noise of the engine, they don't look at people when they talk to them, and they seem very bored with their jobs.
To which I'd like to respond: "I'd love to help you, but I don't like to email educators who don't have a clue how to use a bus OR the internet, and who are probably not that great at their jobs of imparting necessary life skills to our young people ."

Now, the REAL crux of the problem here is that, while it IS unfortunate that they missed their stop, it apparently never occurred to Mr. Educator that a bus operator MIGHT have other things on their mind besides remembering where each person wants to stop, 30 minutes after they get on. It also apparently never entered his head that perhaps, just perhaps, he could try using the little pull-cords and/or Stop buttons that are available from every seat on the bus--and THAT is what the best "response"(you know, the emails you'd LIKE to send, but don't, because you also like your job better than you'd like living under a bridge) dealt with--
We have bright yellow cords running the length of the buses - along with buttons near the aisle that say 'stop' - merely for our own amusement. We think they look pretty. Last week, however, we realized - on accident - that when they are pulled a sound goes off in the bus and a light goes on. We don't know if the two are related, but we're investigating that with our maintenance staff. In the meantime, it might serve as a good reminder to the operator when you're getting close to your stop for him to hear that sound. Sometimes you have to get pretty creative when riding the bus and trying to communicate with a driver who has multiple tasks to do at the same time. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Also, sometimes information regarding website addresses are listed in strange places, like a mystery game. It's fun to look in schedule racks on the buses for clues. And sometimes, the buses themselves reveal mysteries we never knew about. [our website is on the back of our buses in reflective vinyl, as well as on the front of every publication we have).