Mike Fuller is something of a legend in Southwest Philadelphia. Although I’ve personally never had the pleasure of riding one his trolleys, I’ve heard stories about the SEPTA Trolley Operator who keeps passengers entertained with his bizarre and hilarious narrations as if he’s a local tour guide — giving Frank Reynolds a run for his money for “most popular Philadelphia tour guide.” And now finally a Philadelphia area website has interviewed Fuller about the motivation behind his daily grind.
Fuller explains that he likes to demystify the journey — particularly that of the tunnel that the trolley eventually enters — saying that the tunnel seems like a mystical place. He likes to keep passengers abreast of what the tunnel is doing when you’re inside it, which inspires lines such as: “You can see the Market-Frankford line, like a Siamese twin fusing into our tunnel … We’re swallowed up by the 1955 tunnel, with walls that are corrugated like a trachea.”
Fuller also says that he likes to dress up “as the tunnel” for Halloween, which should come as absolutely no surprise if you’ve just read the previous paragraph. So if you ever happen to find yourself in a trolley in Philadelphia and think you’ve just stepped into a David Lynch movie, fear not — because you’re just being treated to the narrative stylings of Mike Fuller, Trolley Operator.
(Via Scrapple.tv)