safety-wallet

About two weeks ago, just prior to our trip to the mighty Curve, I finally retired my RTS (Regional Transit Service) safety-wallet and consigned it to the Flint Landfill. (“Funeral arrangements by Pratt Disposal and Flint Landfill;” “Don’t produce that; it might go into print!”)
My safety-wallet was one of many awards I received over the years for a safe-driving record at Transit. All were fairly cheap; probably the cheapest of all was the safety-mug. Nicest was a tile with a fired image of one of our 700-series Starships on it (pictured).
I tried to get our builder to include it in the tile tub-surround in our bathroom, but -a) it wasn’t standard size, -b) it wasn’t the thickness of standard tile, and -c) it had a cork backing.
We use it as a hot-plate in our kitchen.
The safety-wallet was a bone of contention.
At that time, our Union was trying to negotiate a new contract, and management had stonewalled.
Almost a year had passed since the old contract expired — we were working under the old contract.
But management in its infinite wisdom had awarded us safety-wallets, so we marched for the local TV-news cameras holding up our empty wallets.
I never got around to using my safety-wallet until after my stroke — my old wallet was disintegrating. In fact, I may have been still using it when Jack and I rode motorbikes to the mighty Curve and Steamtown — although what I remember is how much worse Jack’s wallet looked: all moldy and matted, and full of moths and dust.
Actually my safety-wallet was still pretty sound — it was leather.
But to keep using it, I’d have to replace the plastic credit-card folder; and even then, a plastic credit-card folder seems to destroy credit-cards.
My new wallet has separate slots for each card; hopefully avoiding deterioration of the magnetized strip.

“The mighty Curve” is Horseshoe Curve west of Altoona, Pennsylvania, by far the BEST railfan spot I have ever been to.

I drove transit-bus 16&1/2 years at Regional Transit Service, the transit bus company in Rochester, NY.

RE: “Funeral arrangements by Pratt Disposal and Flint Landfill;” “Don’t produce that; it might go into print!” ...is an obituary I proposed at the Canandaigua Daily-Messenger newspaper, where I once worked. “Pratt Disposal” is the local private trash-collection company, and they dump their trash at “Flint Landfill.”

“Starships” were General Motors RTS-series buses — the best styling-job GM ever did.

I had a stroke October 26, 1993; it ended my bus-driving career.

“Jack” is my blowhard brother-from-Boston. We rode motorbikes to Horseshoe Curve, and also Steamtown, a railroad-museum in Scranton, PA. At that time Steamtown had a steam-powered railroad excursion, and we rode it.

Jack is always loudly excoriating me for not spending money: “ya need to crack that dusty wallet and let the moths out!”