The wheels on the bus go something something...

It's not often a drunk guy can come on a bus and make everyone happy.

But a while back, I was on a bus between Surrey Central Station and South Surrey. Around Surrey Memorial Hospital, a guy came on board smelling strongly of alcohol and lumbering around disoriented. The driver reluctantly let him on. (What was he going to do? The guy was drunk. Better on a bus than behind the wheel.) Everyone on board prepared for the worst.

Instead, he started singing. What he was singing, I had no clue. But whatever it was, he finished one tune and started another. And then he started encouraging people at the front to start singing. Amused, some people actually did (to my surprise). And then more and more joined in. By the time I got off in South Surrey, the whole bus was singing along to whatever song the guy chose. It was oddly nice to see a "nice drunk guy" instead of a "violent drunk guy" for a change.

At my stop, as I was waiting for the wheelchair ramp to deploy, I said to the driver, "That's got to be a first, right?"

The driver shrugged and said, "Nothing surprises me anymore."

Trafficking in traffic

For anyone who knows anything about Vancouver, one thing is blatantly obvious -- this city loves its marijuana. In fact, when Vancouver native Ross Rebagliati won the first-ever gold medal in snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, he was almost disqualified because there were traces of marijuana in his system. Also, whenever you mention "Vancouver Art Gallery" and "marijuana" in the same sentence, you're sure to come up with some sort of joke.

Anyways, a while ago I was on a bus from White Rock to Surrey. It was one of those long and dreadful rides that seem to last forever. Shortly after entering Surrey, two guys came on board. They looked normal enough -- they paid their fare, they got on and they sat down.

And then one of them sold some marijuana joints to the other guy.

Normally, nobody would bat an eye. But that day, another person noticed and came forward.

"Hey, are you selling weed? How much per hit?"

So a second transaction was made.

But we weren't finished.

Soon, a FOURTH guy came forward and asked for weed. And then a fifth. And a sixth. Eventually, I think almost a third to half of the passengers bought weed from the guy by the time the bus pulled into Surrey Central Station.

Welcome to Vancouver. Come for the scenery, stay for the pot.