UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: One car. Please (unintelligible).
ARCHIE JOHNSON: My name is Archie Johnson. I'm a driver for AC Transit, 26 years.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Here's a different snapshot of city life in Oakland.
JOHNSON: You know, people say, well, aren't you afraid of driving in Oakland. And, you know, they think that drivers get shot at every day, or it's so dangerous. It is dangerous, possibly, because everybody that you deal with is a possible criminal, killer, whatever. You don't know who you're dealing with, but you can't be afraid. It's like if you're going to be a fireman, you're not afraid of fires. If you're police, you're not afraid of criminals.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Unintelligible) get out of my business. Get out of my business.
JOHNSON: No crazy person, nobody is going to take me out of my element and make me like, oh, it's a messed up day, because, you know, the whole purpose is to get home each day. Sometimes I tell myself, I say, let the moment pass, and usually it does. That's probably one thing I've learned - just let it pass, and it will pass.
SIEGEL: Thanks to Erica Mu, Wendy Baker and member station KALW for that City Life Snapshot. Erica and Wendy are part of Localore, an initiative from the Association of Independents in Radio.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
You can follow the Cities Project on Twitter: @nprcities. And listen for our next story on Thursday.
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SIEGEL: You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.