Comet

  The Columbia bus system was looking for a name that would be succinct,  and also a color scheme that would catch the eye.  They put out a request to all of the local schools to ask students to come up with a name.  The winning entry was The Comet.  The student took the current acronym of CMRTA (Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority) and thought of something in motion to come up with The Comet.  It was a bit ironic that the buses could be slow and off schedule, but the name stuck.  The color scheme for The Comet buses and stop signs was presented by a local ad agency.  When I saw it, my immediate response was that it would give me "acid flashbacks".  Folks laughed at that, but I was truly worried.  The colors were altered a little to give it the look of what a comet might look like in a modern flair.  We looked at numerous designs for the bus stops.  The current bus stop signs were attached to telephone poles.  We wanted something that visitors to the city and first-time riders could see easily.  We incorporated the Comet colors with route numbers and later schedules at the stops.  The height of the signs, which were attached to their own poles, were chosen so that people walking down sidewalks could see them from a distance away.  

 The Comet wanted to recognize the student that came up with the idea for the name.  They wanted to give the person an award, but they didn't know where the student went to school other than his name.  I told one of the Comet Board members that I was pretty good at finding people.  I had been taught that from my days working with the federal government back in 1980.  I had a name and the internet.  I knew about how old the boy was by now and started searching local high schools.  After emails to some schools, I found a boy by that name.  There was one problem.  The school told me that he was in a criminal gang, and that he was currently incarcerated in a juvenile prison.  I went back to the Comet and reported what I had found.  They weren't pleased.  They didn't want the face of the Comet to be a gang banger.  So, the plans were scrubbed to recognize him.

 A few years later, one of the MTRA's Board members ran into a guy on the street.  He said that he had come up with the Comet name and wished he had been recognized by the folks there.  My Board member went to the Comet with the news.  It turned out that there were two guys by the same name and age in Columbia.  I had picked the wrong one.  Thankfully, the Comet was able to give him the award he deserved.  I wish that I had searched further and not given up after finding out about the gang member.  Two different guys.  The same name.  The same age.  The same city.  Different high schools.  What were the odds?  I was never a very good gambler.