We had snow overnight, but it was mostly wet, slushy stuff. I’m not even bothering to shovel it, it’s just a wet, oatmealish slurry, and it’s going to be 39 out today - it’ll go away on it’s own.
How I got to be Bus Guy? I was working in real estate management downtown. High rise office buildings, I was one of the guys in the office of the building that you called to complain to. Different titles at different places - Operations manager I guess pretty much describes it, I managed the security people and systems, elevators, escalators, maintenance, janitorial, stuff like that.
I had a friend who’s a VP for a school bus company, and from time to time we’d sit over a beerverage and swap stories about work. One night, I was telling him about a problem at work with some people and how I dealt with it, and he said “Damn, I wish I could afford a manager like you…”
I said “define afford”. He gave me a number. I said, “uh, you can afford me.”
A week later, in my best interviewing suit, I found myself sitting in an office with my pal’s boss, Sal. Sal was in a loose sweater and khakis, and the first thing he said was “nice tie”, in a definite tone of sarcasm. He said he hasn’t worn a suit 3 times for work in the past 15 years. I liked that.
We talked and he told me about the job - managing his company’s contract with the Chicago Public Schools - 275 buses, 350 people, two locations, one on the south side, one north, just west of Wrigley Field. Also, a contract running campus buses at the University of Chicago (hi haze!!) , and a couple commuter shuttles. I asked him what in the world made him think I could do this job, with no “bus” experience. Sal asked me what I do now - I described my job. He said, ok so you have people, like janitors, security guards, engineers. You have systems - mechanical things, HVAC, elevators, and you have customers - your tenants and owners who expect you to manage their investment for them, right?
Yeah…
He says, ok I have people - drivers, monitors, mechanics…I have systems - buses, facilities…and I have customers - schools, parents and kids. He says guess what? You ARE a manager, all you need to do is learn buses instead of buildings.
Big light bulb goes on over my head. The next morning, I’m sitting across from the boss I was just breaking in, and whom I genuinely liked, and handing her a resignation letter.
That was late 1999. On 9/11, I was coming home from a LONG day - but it was still early because at 10:30 we got the call to take everyone home. My cell phone rang, and it was a VP for our competitor - my pal gave him permission to call about a job working for them. He’d just opened a new location in the south suburbs and the new manager was a trainwreck. I took that job in October, 2001 (hi rigs!!), and was working there in late 2003 when I saw an opening to be the Transportation Director for a large school district 20 minutes from where I lived. This was attractive because at the time, I had an hour-plus commute. Also, because this would make me the guy in the position at the district that was the person I was essentially working FOR. No more hustling for business, no more watching a corporate profit margin, just running the buses and the department.
I interviewed three different times, in front of 12 people the first time. When the superintendent finally sat me down and showed me the contract they were offering, I reached for a pen. It was about a 15% bump over my salary at the time, paid family health/dental/vision, a pile of life insurance, a fancy state pension, and a total of up to 47 days a year in vacation/sick/personal days. He made me take it home and show the wife, “I know wives, she’ll want to know you showed her before you agree”. I took it home and showed her - she asked why I didn’t sign it on the spot. Can’t win, huh?
My fingers hurt from all this typing. I might need a nap…
This is also known as The Great Monotony. Then again, I suppose it shall not hurt me to spend ten to fifteen minutes on my knees reciting prayers and giving responses. I guess. Maybe it’ll deheathenize me a little bit.