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Downtown with Dallas

Tina was working most of Monday so I arranged to meet fellow Stokie Dallas Cowboy for a morning coffee in downtown Jacksonville in the bohemian area of Riverside. Surely he should now be changing his Oatcake Message Board moniker to Jacksonville Jaguar?! Anyway I took the bus from the beach into town and then the recently introduced “trolley” to Riverside. I shall impart some wise words found on an advert inside the bus…

“Talking loud… saying nothing – don’t cuss on the bus!”

Dallas Cowboy (otherwise known as Calvin) wandered around the corner just as I was approaching the rendez-vous point. Settled down at a cafe table overlooking the famous Five Points junction, we supped coffee, talked Stoke City, and watched confused motorists try to navigate the junction without having a prang. There were a few close calls in a free for all, mainly due to dithering by drivers not aware they had the right of way. Our morning coffee stretched to lunch, and then to early evening. It was around 5:30pm when I finally left, walking back to The Landings along the St John’s River walkway, and then running the last leg to the bus station catching the bus just as the driver was closing his doors. Phew.
Old and new in downtown Jax
One of the many topics of conversation were the new Premiership fixtures out today which of course Stoke City will now be part of. It still hasn’t quite sunk in. But what is beginning to sink in is the enormity of the task in hand and the frightening nature of the fixtures. We start away at Bolton Wanderers on 16th August which is likely to be a Megson-Pulis bore-athon but we might get a point. That is followed by games against Aston Villa, Middlesborough, Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea. I can see us struggling to get a win until 22nd November when we play West Brom at home. They always seem to come unstuck against Stoke. Even more worrying is a recent piece from Stoke’s Director of Gardening Football John Rudge where he apparently said we just need a couple of new quality players. There’s being positive and there’s being downright deluded. I think saying we have a couple of Premiership quality players already and need about ten more is closer to the mark.

Anyway I was glad to meet up with Calvin for a second time during my visit, a thoroughly decent bloke and passionate about Stoke City and playing the game in the right style and spirit. Hopefully our paths will cross in the future. I loved listening to his graphic descriptions of his memories of past Stoke teams when we did have true quality throughout the side and were admired for our football style not pilloried for it. There might have been no cussing on the bus but there was plenty at our table during the day.

Just before I turn in for the night my bus journey made me think of another ludicrous thing about the USA (well certainly round here). So in the continuing series here is number 7.

7. The snobbery about bus use. Buses are seen as a last resort, the transportation for the poor who cannot afford a car, not a useful, cheap and environmentally friendly mode of travel.

Today I travelled around 40 miles. I had a seat to myself in a clean, comfortable, safe, air-conditioned bus and the trolley bus. What did I pay for this service? $2.50 in total. It would have been another 50c but I walked back from Riverside to downtown. You show me a car that could do 40 miles for that price, especially since it’s over $4 a gallon now here. I think a few Americans will start changing their views about bus travel…

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