Peanut Saves The Day

From one kind  of canine to the next, this time a Chihuahua mix name of Peanut sticking her head out of the apartment door enquiring just what was all the commotion about?  Shaking a bit she sweetly displayed a concern for her drunken owner who wouldn't get out of the cab, the woman kicking and lashing out at her very patient  boyfriend.  While Peanut is not quite a wolf of course still she remains a distinguished member of that ancient doggy clan.  Dogs are wonderful whether growling or wagging their tails. If only Peanut's mistress displayed a similar wisdom.  I truly appreciated Peanut's equanimity given the madness that was Saturday, beginning with Yellow's computer system going down for four hours beginning from about 4:00 to 8:00 AM.  There are many stories related to this but suffice to say there appears to have been a serious institutional failure that impacted 554 taxis and an untold number of passengers.  HopeLink passengers were missing their crucial and life-saving dialysis while other folks were frantically making new arrangements to Sea-Tac and their departing flights. This was not a minor incident given its implications concerning both operational and contingency planning.  Part of the problem was the time of day and who at that moment was in charge.  If this same situation had occurred at say one in the afternoon on any given weekday it perhaps might have been resolved in 10 or 15 minutes because the correct personnel were in place to achieve quick resolution.  But when you put  the responsibility for a multimillion dollar company in inexperienced hands you unfortunately have this kind of result.  There has to be some real and lasting accountability if anyone plans on this never occurring again.  Questions like periodic maintenance and review come to mind. Fortunately I missed the earlier seven-hour collapse of the entire telephone system that same week.  As I keep asking repeatedly, is anyone actually paying attention?   Every time I question some unproductive procedure the usual first response is obfuscation and denial.  In this case it is readily apparent that the same old and too familiar  pattern of sidestepping past important issues cannot suffice or be found acceptable. Yellow is receiving lousy service reviews.  Passengers are sick and tired of what they perceive as blatant disregard and arrogance adding up to  overall incompetence.  I can only hope this incident is the proverbial "wake-up" call, and instead of justification changes truly occur, instilling a permanent recognition acknowledging that this time our response must be different.  Though given past history I recommend everyone to "not hold your breath" as you just might collapse upon the floor  awaiting the Calvary's arrival.  But if you do, and Peanut is near by I am sure she would give you a friendly lick expressing a heartfelt concern.  And wag her tail if only she had one.