Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Locked inside a depressing Greyhound depot

Alpha_Q · 05-29-2024, 05:57 PM

TLDR, riding the bus was the best part of the whole trip.

1991, I went to AZ to visit my girlfriend, who had just moved there. Before boarding the plane to Phoenix, I was taken out of the line, put in a little room and questioned for an hour regarding the reason for my trip. Apparently I looked like a known drug courier they were waiting for. They said they were holding up the plane for me, and 15 minutes after my flight was supposed to leave, they drove me out on a truck with stairs on it so I could board the plane.

Anyway, I had to ride the Dog from Phoenix to Bisbee, with a swap at Tucson. Unbeknownst to 21-year-old me, there was a Greyhound strike at the time, and the strikers in Phoenix formed a line across the garage exit and wouldn't let the bus out. They weren't supposes to strike at that particular part of the station, however, and after fifteen minutes, they let the bus through. It travelled about sixty feet and was stopped again, this time at the lot exit, where the strikers were allowed to gather, and they blocked the bus again. The powers that be at the time decided it was too dangerous to let anyone off the bus, and so we all had to stay aboard for about 4 hours before the strikers let the bus leave. As it left, the bus was pelted with apples.

In Tucson, on a new bus, I sat next to a guy who was working in the States on some temporary Visa, and he was travelling back to Mexico for the first time in a year, and he was going to meet his 10 month old daughter for the first time. The bus had AC, the seats were comfy, there was no apple splat to disrupt the view. It was a nice ride. My GF picked me up in Sierra Vista, and we drove the rest of the way to Bisbee. She wanted to stop at Safeway, but it was almost 2 in the morning. The Safeway was open 24 hours, which I thought was crazy. As we walked out of the Safeway, a Greyhound pulls up. It's actually the one that I was on earlier, and the Mexican fellow I had been talking to got off. I introduced him to the GF, and they talked in Spanish for a bit. He was planning on walking from Bisbee to the border, and then to where his family lived, it would be something like an 8 hour walk. We offered to drive him. So we cross the border into Mexico easily enough, but coming back, we're taken from the car and held in different rooms while they go at the car with dogs and mirrors. For the second time in less than 24 hours, I'm stopped when entering the US, this time from the opposite edge of the country.

Things went downhill from there. Why was I not picked up in Bisbee? That was on account of my GF's new BF, who introduced himself to me about 30 hours later, not at all impressed that I was there. The GF and I broke up 2 days into a 30 day 'vacation.'

---

On the return trip, I swapped buses in Tucson, and including the driver, there were three of us on the bus. The other passenger was let off half way to Phoenix, so for a large portion of the trip it was just me and the driver. We talked a bit, about the strike initially. The strike had gone on for about a year at this point, and the driver was a long term driver who had crossed the picket line because he was close to retirement, and just didn't have the patience anymore for 'all that stuff.' He asked why I was going to Phoenix, and I told him I was just going to the airport to fly back to Calgary. He offered to take me straight to the airport, which he did. In a SceniCruiser 8, he took me to the departure drop off area, and, smiling, opened the door for me and wished me a good flight. I asked about my suitcase, and he shrugged and said there were no suitcases on the bus. He checked all the luggage bins... No suitcase.

At that time you had to declare what you were bringing back from the US in person. I told the nice clerk that I had been in the US for 30 days, had nothing to declare, loved the AZ weather, etc, and she pointed out where I could pick up my suitcase. I told her I had no suitcase. She looked confused, and told me to wait a minute, and she picked up a phone. Another agent showed up and escorted me into a little room, where I was questioned about a month-long trip with no luggage. They went through my carry-on, I had to open up and pull the paper insert out of every cassette tape I had...

I was on the phone with Greyhound three days in a row while they updated me about my suitcase, it having to clear customs and all that. On the third day, Delta Airlines phoned me asking if I was planning on coming to pick up my suitcase, which had been in Calgary the whole time. Apparently, another bus had taken it to Phoenix, it got to the airport the same day I did, and was probably on the same plane I was on.

I never saw the exGF again, tho she called a few times saying she was back in Calgary, and back on her Lithium prescription.

05-29-2024, 05:57 PM	#29
Alpha_Q Scoring Winger Join Date: Mar 2004 Exp:	TLDR, riding the bus was the best part of the whole trip. 1991, I went to AZ to visit my girlfriend, who had just moved there. Before boarding the plane to Phoenix, I was taken out of the line, put in a little room and questioned for an hour regarding the reason for my trip. Apparently I looked like a known drug courier they were waiting for. They said they were holding up the plane for me, and 15 minutes after my flight was supposed to leave, they drove me out on a truck with stairs on it so I could board the plane. Anyway, I had to ride the Dog from Phoenix to Bisbee, with a swap at Tucson. Unbeknownst to 21-year-old me, there was a Greyhound strike at the time, and the strikers in Phoenix formed a line across the garage exit and wouldn't let the bus out. They weren't supposes to strike at that particular part of the station, however, and after fifteen minutes, they let the bus through. It travelled about sixty feet and was stopped again, this time at the lot exit, where the strikers were allowed to gather, and they blocked the bus again. The powers that be at the time decided it was too dangerous to let anyone off the bus, and so we all had to stay aboard for about 4 hours before the strikers let the bus leave. As it left, the bus was pelted with apples. In Tucson, on a new bus, I sat next to a guy who was working in the States on some temporary Visa, and he was travelling back to Mexico for the first time in a year, and he was going to meet his 10 month old daughter for the first time. The bus had AC, the seats were comfy, there was no apple splat to disrupt the view. It was a nice ride. My GF picked me up in Sierra Vista, and we drove the rest of the way to Bisbee. She wanted to stop at Safeway, but it was almost 2 in the morning. The Safeway was open 24 hours, which I thought was crazy. As we walked out of the Safeway, a Greyhound pulls up. It's actually the one that I was on earlier, and the Mexican fellow I had been talking to got off. I introduced him to the GF, and they talked in Spanish for a bit. He was planning on walking from Bisbee to the border, and then to where his family lived, it would be something like an 8 hour walk. We offered to drive him. So we cross the border into Mexico easily enough, but coming back, we're taken from the car and held in different rooms while they go at the car with dogs and mirrors. For the second time in less than 24 hours, I'm stopped when entering the US, this time from the opposite edge of the country. Things went downhill from there. Why was I not picked up in Bisbee? That was on account of my GF's new BF, who introduced himself to me about 30 hours later, not at all impressed that I was there. The GF and I broke up 2 days into a 30 day 'vacation.' --- On the return trip, I swapped buses in Tucson, and including the driver, there were three of us on the bus. The other passenger was let off half way to Phoenix, so for a large portion of the trip it was just me and the driver. We talked a bit, about the strike initially. The strike had gone on for about a year at this point, and the driver was a long term driver who had crossed the picket line because he was close to retirement, and just didn't have the patience anymore for 'all that stuff.' He asked why I was going to Phoenix, and I told him I was just going to the airport to fly back to Calgary. He offered to take me straight to the airport, which he did. In a SceniCruiser 8, he took me to the departure drop off area, and, smiling, opened the door for me and wished me a good flight. I asked about my suitcase, and he shrugged and said there were no suitcases on the bus. He checked all the luggage bins... No suitcase. At that time you had to declare what you were bringing back from the US in person. I told the nice clerk that I had been in the US for 30 days, had nothing to declare, loved the AZ weather, etc, and she pointed out where I could pick up my suitcase. I told her I had no suitcase. She looked confused, and told me to wait a minute, and she picked up a phone. Another agent showed up and escorted me into a little room, where I was questioned about a month-long trip with no luggage. They went through my carry-on, I had to open up and pull the paper insert out of every cassette tape I had... I was on the phone with Greyhound three days in a row while they updated me about my suitcase, it having to clear customs and all that. On the third day, Delta Airlines phoned me asking if I was planning on coming to pick up my suitcase, which had been in Calgary the whole time. Apparently, another bus had taken it to Phoenix, it got to the airport the same day I did, and was probably on the same plane I was on. I never saw the exGF again, tho she called a few times saying she was back in Calgary, and back on her Lithium prescription.