Jammer Confidential – TRYING to close out the category

Wow. And I mean wow. I haven’t posted anything for about 6 weeks. Which is the longest span since I started this blog thing last year. Of course, I started with about a year of content from the 2021 hiking summer at Glacier National Park.

Yeah yeah yeah. I’ve been busy. This is the greatest excuse of all time because it takes no explanation. But I’m equally sure that “been busy” is pretty much synonymous with “just plain lazy.” Sounds less like a cliché. I must confess to the latter.  And of course, I just don’t care.

Now in my defense, it’s not as though I don’t have a dozen things going through my mind right now. Captured in a bunch of drafts of various minutia and stupid moments in time I see every day. My stumbling block has really been closing out the Jammer Confidential category. Just need a nice clean ending to what has been a hot mess that still clouds my mind. Such a season. So much written. So much unwritten (scroll to the end and it will make sense).

I’ve had tons of questions about being a Glacier Red Bus Driver from friends, people at work, and family. All kinds of questions. What’s the experience like? What’s the pay like? What’s the hiking and climbing like? What’s living with that that D-bag of a roommate like?

So I started to write a lot of that narrative down. And anyone who follows anything I’ve written knows that such tales can take many different forms. I figured it would be just a quick little one- or two-part post. Keeping it short and sweet for those of you with, well, let’s call it a brief attention span. Which I assume is most likely all of you, given it is generally my content you turn to when you run out of everything else of interest. For the day at least.

But as I jumped into my many tantalizing Red Bus driver experiences and metrics (oh how I love metrics), the word count really started to grow. It was becoming a novella of its own. Expect this to be a solid 5- or 6-part series. Unlike all good things that come to a happy and peaceful end, Jammer Confidential is going to die a slow and agonizing death. At least for all of you.

I’m going to be doing this more Paramount Network style, versus the tried-and-true Netflix approach. I’ll get everything written up and through postproduction. But instead of dropping the entire series all at once like Stranger Things (for those binge-readers out there), I’ll space it out bit more. Kind of like in the series Yellowstone.

That will give you time to digest and process. Each post will end with a tale like that of Beth Dutton. A character that is known for making horrible life decisions (while dropping F-bombs). But leaving you wanting more. Nobody can resist watching a good train wreck or dumpster fire (as long as it is not your own).

So, as with any good mini-series, here is a little teaser. In the form of a mini-quiz, of course.

What is one thing that will exclude you from being a Red Bus Driver?

A: No CDL (commercial driver’s license)

B: Frontal lobotomy

C: Being a pedophile

D: No pulse

How many hours can you expect to work in an average two-week pay period?

A: 60 hours

B: 80 hours

C: 100 hours

D: 120 hours

Which of the following in NOT the name of a Red Bus Tour?

A: Crown of the Continent

B: Huckleberry Mountain

C: Old North Trail

D: Three Valley

East Side Red Bus drivers are more likely to be:

A: Younger

B: First-year driver

C: Female

D: Intoxicated in public

At the end of the season, what percent of your gross pay will come from tips (both cash and taxed)?

A: 35%

B: 45%

C: 55%

D: 65 %

Red Busses are owned by the NPS and have government-issued license plates.  Which of the following CAN the driver do in a federal vehicle?

A: Use a step stool to help the elderly climb up to and from the 16” high running board

B: Solicit gratuities

C: Smile and wave

D: Tell riders you are making $12 an hour

I’ll drop the answers off tomorrow.  Just to see if you are worthy, you’ll need the password that I provided at the beginning of this category.  Remember it?  Hmmm……   You can always feel free to contact me and ask.  🙂