I'm sitting at a traffic light on Carroll Avenue in Takoma Park behind a No. 12 Ride-On Bus, and I notice the manufacturer's nameplate: Gillig Phantom. Now is that really a good name for a bus?

My two dictionaries on the top floor of the house variously define a phantom as "something having no physical reality, an illusion." When I ride the bus I want to be riding in something real, thank you very much.

Moreover, the connotation of "phantom," at least as it's been applied in warfare, is something you can't easily see or hear. I don't know about you, but if I'm waiting for my ride I want to hear it when it's coming.

Once in Downtown Manhattan, I came somewhat close to actually being hit by a bus. I've got enough trouble getting across the street without something that I can't see gunning for me.

posted: 4:04:29 PM