Rufus T. Firefly wrote:
But, what was humorous about the sign though?
"HOV" sounds funny. When I posted it I thought it was a California abbreviation, no one would know what it meant and someone would make up something funny.
Then I learned about slugging in the DC area and it became even funnier, to me alone apparently.
Crack the Window (13 Mar 04) - This happened in November of 2003. I was waiting to pick up for 18 and K ST at Potomac Mills when a small, fiery-red haired, round lady strolls my way. She happened to be going there and gets in the car. I had those new car fresheners that looks like the Glade plug-in versions in the Jasmine scent, and my car was smelling great. However, when she came in I could barely smell it any longer. The second slug was a good-looking, young guy that got in the back. I could barely breath with the stench this lady was producing. After driving for fifteen minutes, the lady says in a very strong, Russian accent, "Could you please crack the window?" I abided. Awhile later, she asks, "Is something wrong with your car because it smells bad?" I was fuming but said, "No, the car is fine and was smelling fine until a few moments ago." We drove in silence. She wanted to be dropped off at C ST, so I gladly let her out. The moment she stepped out, the car fresheners miraculously started working. I looked at the guy and plead, "It was her." He said, "I know, I have slugged with her before." We both started cracking up.In the early days of slugging the sluggers used bus stops to wait for a ride. This irritated bus drivers no end as they would stop to pick up a ride and the person(s) would not get on. Bus drivers started calling them slugs after the false coins (punch outs from electrical boxes) some people would drop in the coin slot.
The Accidental Slug (13 Mar 04) -The After reading the “slug stories”, I thought I’d add one of my own. Back in the late 80’s, there were no commuter lots (at least in Springfield), except for the gathering place at Long John Silvers. So I, like most drivers, would raid the bus stops. As I inched my way towards downtown Springfield, I’d scan every bus stop for potential slugs like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse. One day, I eagerly spied a couple at a bus stop. They were probably in their early 60’s. I swooped over and called my usual “Would you like a ride to the Pentagon?” They looked at each other. They looked at me. They looked at each other again. Finally they shrugged and climbed in. As is often the case, we didn’t speak during the ride, but I noticed that they were getting increasingly nervous. Finally, we pulled into the Pentagon, and one of them screwed up their courage and asked, “Well, how much do we owe you?” It turns out that they were tourists! They planned to go sightseeing downtown while their son whom they were visiting was at work. I quickly explained how the slug system works, and no, they didn’t owe me anything - they already “paid” me by getting me to work an hour early. They were completely flabbergasted. Their final words were “Oh my God! This kind of thing would NEVER happen in Cincinnati!”When I rode the bus from the Washington Hilton Hotel in the 80's, to Gaithersburg, I don't remember any high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. The bus would get stuck in traffic every afternoon on the way back. Maybe I wasn't paying attention.
For those who do not know about HOV lanes, this is Interstate 270. The diamonds in the lane indicate it is a HOV lane.
