the school bus.

what a novel idea! now that i live in a country where kids take trains and public taxis to school, or their own two feet, i can see what a profound invention the school bus is. i vividly remember my daily routine of walking out to the edge of my driveway, with a tiny bit of anxiety pulsing through my veins keeping me warm amidst the cool morning air. I lived near the t-junction, and i could always hear the bus before i could see it. eventually it would come cruising to a stop and ease into the right turn towards my house. I dont know why I thought the bus would drive right past me, but sometimes I would feel a bit of fear that this would happen. It was amazing to leave the quiet, familiar world of family and home, and ascend the steps of the bus into a mobile world of chaos and chatter.

My bus driver was Mr Nash. I got his autograph once. He was quite a hero in my little world. He knew how to drive this big bus, he knew where all us children lived, and he never failed to get me to school. When I got my Hello Kitty autograph book one year, he was one of the first names in it. I think I even thought he had a part in creating Nashville. He was Mr. "Nash" after all. A jolly old man.

Did you know that it took a large committee of New Yorkers 7 whole days to design the school bus, and create the color known as "school bus yellow"...how creative! North America is known for its use of the school bus, and I'm really thankful to have been one of the lucky kids whose world involved the experience of it. Maneuvering the social drama and pressures that the school bus culture brought with it, I think it taught me a bit about life. Maybe I'm a bit less afraid of independence, of walking into the unknown, because of the school bus.

Here's some pictures I took of school buses at my old elementary school, Lipscomb Elementary. The school has been torn down and rebuilt, bearing no resemblance to what I knew and loved it to be. But I suppose that's life. Things change, improve, grow.

But not the school bus. Cheers to one constant in the ever-evolving drama of a child's tender life!








Comments

  1. StacieOctober 25, 2011 at 5:37 AM

    i never rode the bus. well, except on field trips. and band trips. those were the days. they are a pretty smart invention. i wonder why no one else uses them... thanks for sharing and the insight. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 13, 2011 at 7:48 PM

    Since my last post (profound and lengthy) never "stuck" when I tried to post it, I will keep this brief.

    I really liked this. Any insight into the mind/thinking of your child is a great experience...especially when you find kindness and uniqueness. Thanks for writing. Dad

    ReplyDelete

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