Quotes From Bill Wattenburg
In response to a CA state Senator asking his opinion of BART management:
“I’m still looking for the front end of the horse.”

SF Chronicle, Nov. 19, 1973, p. 29 in Herb Caen’s column.
To the Maitre d’Hotel (while slipping him $20) after his date made him take back a bottle of wine—but one of many complaints:
“Take her away!”

SF Chronicle, Apr. 19, 1974, p. 27, in Herb Caen’s column.
Describing BART GM Billy Stokes at a Commonwealth Club meeting:
“The extraction by some farmers of methane gas from manure piles is interesting, but how can you top a genius who is trying to run a subway system on pure bullshit?”

SF Chronicle, Mar. 29, 1974, p. 29, in Herb Caen’s column..
On why he hasn—t written more books:
“You can sometimes beat the pros at their own game once. But they don—t often let you get away with it a second time. It—s much easier to find another field.”
From a U.S. Forest Service Supervisor in Plumas County, Calif.:
“There are not many old pros like him left anymore who can chase a forest fire on a bulldozer in the night over mountains so rugged that you can—t walk on them. I mean fire crews won—t go where he takes a bulldozer. This guy attacks a fire just like it was trying to kill his kids. We called him once when he was on the radio in San Francisco—we just needed his equipment on the fire. He was on the fire himself four hours later.”.
A favorite saying at the Nevada test site:
“A smart cowboy just wouldn’t work this hard to make things so goddamn difficult.”
In response to a fellow scientist asking if he had been in an accident:
”No, some women just like to make their cowboys jealous. I guess it makes him better in bed after she takes him home and patches him up.”
. Describing the BART train control system in the 1970s:
“…the world’s most expensive, computer-controlled, track-mounted pinball machine.”
On why it was so easy for him to crack the early BART magstripe tickets:
“It’s not my fault. When engineers have too much money, they usually think only of the most sophisticated ways they can spend it. No one asks them to play devil’s advocate and think of the obvious until it’s too late.”
In response to an allegation that he was working for the Golden Gate Bridge district without a professional engineer’s license:
“I don’t take public money for exposing high-priced fools who pretend to be competent engineers.”
In response to a corrosion engineer who had been working on the EBMUD blue water problem for a year:
“Where I went to school. we don’t give degrees to engineers who can’t solve a problem in a year.”
Upon being asked why other talk show hosts don’t follow his format of welcoming callers on any subject:
“If you do, you’d better be ready to spend three hours on the air admitting your ignorance. You’d better be prepared for what smart people will ask you.”

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