Laughter 2

            Last Sunday night, which was no different than any other Sunday night, I was working Froggy 5-0. It was a decent night but was a little chilly and I hadn’t gotten very much sleep the last two previous nights because of work and I actually decided to be social and hang out with some people. Shocking right? I thought so too but I digress. Like I was saying, slightly chilly Sunday night. When we aren’t busy, like that night, it is usually pretty painful especially this time of the year. We start driving whenever it gets dark out which mean we have to be at work by five thirty and stay until one am. By my count that is seven and a half hours and after spending six hours in the library previous to this the shift, when slow, can drag on. It felt like it was literally lasting forever and at the rate that it was creeping by, hours felt like days. When it’s cold out its even worse. We have to stay out on our carts incase someone walks by us and asks for a ride or so we can respond faster if dispatched to a building where someone has called in.

            When we aren’t receiving calls from the dispatcher we as drivers can pretty much do whatever we want: drive around aimlessly, listen to music, do homework (ha this one is funny) really anything that involves us on our carts in earshot of our radios. What usually happens on these long, slow, painful nights is that all of the drivers congregate outside of Foster and we sit and talk.

            Our conversations in these “pow-wows”, if you will, consist of anything from complaining about the evening to how many hot girls we have driven. This night was no different and we sat around complaining, jabbing each other playfully with insults and telling each other about funny stories that have happened to us on the job.

            The real “fit of laughter” that this whole supposed post is about didn’t occur until the last few minutes of the shift. Usually as soon as twelve forty-five hits we drive back to the station and stop taking calls. On the rare occasion that someone is watching the time and decides to call in right at twelve forty-five, while we are still required to answer the phone, one unlucky driver gets stuck with the last call of the night while everyone else gets to head back to the station.

            Usually this isn’t a big deal. For instance one night I lucked out and got stuck with a last call that was from 38 to 90. For those of you that don’t speak Froggy, that means from Colby to the Grand Marc. This is perfect because I was right outside of Colby that night and the Grand Marc is on the way back to the station.

            Last Sunday night, however, didn’t go as smooth. It was twelve forty and no body had been dispatched in the past hour or so. I had only given around 25 rides that night, which for a Sunday night is painfully slow, especially spread over a seven and a half our shift. I was talking to Matt, one of my fellow drivers, how I was probably just going to head back to the station now and just wait until twelve forty-five to head into the station and finish up the required paperwork. He convinced me to stay and chat for a minute or two. As soon as we decided to head back to the station the dispatcher comes over the radio with my call number. I froze and glanced over to Matt and said, “This better not be out to the Greek or I am gonna lose it.”

            Sure enough when I responded I got stuck with one from 01 to 38 and one from 01 to 99. Again, let me translate. That is two from the library one going to Colby and one going all the way down to the Greek.

            As soon as this came over the radio he busted out in uncontrollable laughter. Once I got over the initial shock and frustration, I too busted out into one of the biggest fits of laughter I have all semester. I laughed for the fact that of course me of all people after getting hardly any calls all night would have to go practically across campus to the library to take people all the way to the Greek then turn around and come back. This of course while all of my fellow drivers meandered their way back to the station.

            It was uncontrolled due to my lack of sleep and the sheer hilarity that it was of course to the one place I didn’t want to drive. It was a weird funny but at the same time disappointing laugh but uncontrollable nonetheless!