Busman's Holiday
Radio Diaries
Radio Diaries & Radiotopia
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2021
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One day in 1947, NYC bus driver William Cimillo showed up to his daily bus route, but instead of turning left, he turned right. Over the next week, he traveled 1,300 miles in his municipal bus, ending up in Hollywood, Florida. The bus had broken down, he’d run out of money, and had no way of getting home. Plus, he was now the most wanted bus driver in the country.
This story originally aired on This American Life. Go to www.radiodiaries.org to find more stories and sign up for our monthly newsletter.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Radiotopia. |
| 0:02.0 | From PRX. |
| 0:05.0 | From PRX's Radiotopia, this is Radio Diaries. |
| 0:08.0 | I'm Joe Richman. |
| 0:10.0 | After more than a year of a confined pandemic life, |
| 0:15.0 | we all sometimes fantasize about getting away, |
| 0:18.0 | just taking off, suddenly leaving our lives behind for someplace new. |
| 0:23.6 | Most of us don't have the guts to do it. Today on the show, a story about someone who did just |
| 0:29.1 | that in a city bus. This is Busman's Holiday. In 1947, a New York City Bus driver holiday. |
| 0:44.6 | In 1947, a New York City bus driver named William Simillo became, for a few weeks, |
| 0:46.7 | the most famous bus driver in the country. |
| 0:51.1 | I read a bunch of accounts of what he did, but my favorite is from this TV interview. |
| 1:11.6 | It unfolds kind of slowly, but that's kind of why it's so great. Pepsi Cola presents Hay Emerson. Hello again. Do you ever think of getting away from it all? A bus driver had that same feeling, and he made every headline in the country. So I asked him to come up here and tell us all about it. Hello, Bill. Pleasured to meet you. |
| 1:12.6 | Thank you. |
| 1:13.6 | Come on, sit down and let's talk. Hey, Charlie, you got a couple of Pepsi's here for it? Pepsi's right here. Thanks, Charlie. Yes, ma'am. Let me stop this for a second and describe what's happening. It's black and white footage. The set of the show is a living room, a complete living room, everything, window |
| 1:28.5 | blinds, paintings on the walls, a credenza. So a butler hands the host, Fay Emerson, a silver |
| 1:34.4 | tray with a bottle of Pepsi in two glasses. Then Fay pours your guest to drink. |
| 1:39.0 | Will you tell us what happened, please. |
| 1:41.0 | Wonderful. Well, it's one of those things. |
| 1:45.0 | I was on a job for about 20 years, and I really got tired of it all, you know. |
| 1:49.7 | Up and down, every day, the same people, the same stops, nickels, dimes, transfers, and... |
| 1:56.0 | Well, this morning, I thought I'd try something different. |
... |
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