Dinks and Dingalings

Anyone can be a ding-a-ling, but only a few are dinks.

When I began my new vocation as a transit operator, I was careful to not miss any stops, looking for people and listening for stop requests.  On my ITS computer, I set it to show the stops, as I don't always know or remember.  As I would approach these stops, I'd whisper to myself, "No dingers; No people." meaning I didn't have to stop.  As the time wore on, I shortened the reference to "No ding-a-lings", which was an affectionate reference to people being silly or a ding-a-ling of sorts.  This week, I changed it again.

Noticing that not all the chimes are the same in the different buses, I noted that while some chimes are of a pleasant and almost playful 'ding', some of the bells possessed more of a "ding-k" sound, which made me laugh.  Now I refer to people as one of two terms.  Either a ding-a-ling or a dink.

Dink is a silly sounding word.  I've heard it in reference to the male genitalia, although when Google'd, if refers to something much more sinister and less silly sounding.  It's of a racial nature that does not need to be repeated in this forum, but if you must quench that thirst for curiosity, feel free to Google it yourself.  To me, however, the word in and of itself is every bit as amusing to say and hear as it is vulgar.  That's where it applies best for my job.

Anyone can be a ding-a-ling, I stated in the opening line of this blog, but not everyone is a dink.  Just the ignorant assholes are dinks.  The people who get on the bus, refusing to pay the reasonable $3 fare.  Those who get on and make some feeble-ass excuse why they won't or can't pay.  Or people who just act like complete assholes when they ride.  Dink. Dink. Dink...  All dinks!!

Then there are those who quietly get on, pay their fare and sit quietly, awaiting their destination.  Those who call out a friendly 'thank you' when they're stepping off the bus.  Those who engage in a friendly 'hello' or chit-chat about the weather.  The friendly folk who barely make a mark on one's day, because they're so pleasant.  I love those ding-a-lings.  Sadly, it's those dinks who stand out.

One particular dink stood out on Monday.  He never paid his fare, but took it upon himself to verbally attack to Muslim women who were seated quietly.  They paid their fare, but he had to give them his opinions of how they were abusing the system, taking advantage of the Canadian government, stealing "our" cash and strongly suggested they go back to their country.  He explained that he didn't appreciate that it was "our tax money" that pays for the buses and that people shouldn't be riding for free.  I guess he didn't sense the irony that he never paid for his ride, nor has he ever (I suspect) paid any taxes.  Pretty tough to pay taxes when you're unemployed, sucking the government's welfare teat and hooked on paint thinner.  [For legal reasons, I should add: Allegedly.]  The guy was a supreme dink.  I kindly asked him not to harass the riders, but he got confrontational and I had to back off to avoid being assaulted or worse.  

That's the world we live in now.  Where good and bad live out in the open.  Good and evil, as it were.  Ding-a-lings and dinks, coexisting and those of us forced to spectate.  Which one are you?  Which one am I?  I pray I'm not a dink, though I may have a dink-ish attitude, sometimes, but I'm trying to be a ding-a-ling.  I truly am.