I was headed into work yesterday and I ended up behind a school bus for several miles, which was very annoying! But I saw the kids in the back horsing around and I flashed back to my middle school and high school days riding the bus to and from that prison.



Our bus driver was an old man, probably in his 60's, who was very quiet. We weren't a rowdy bunch but occasionally when one of us would get out of hand, he would look up into that oversized mirror and give us an evil stare. Now that I think about that, wouldn't that be dangerous to stare up into a mirror instead of at the road?

We would invent games on the bus to pass the time. Like quickly switching seats when the bus driver wasn't looking. Occasionally throw spit balls at each other and such. Ah those were good days.

You were quite a rebel back then, weren't you?

I can recall a great deal about my time on the school bus.

Where I grew up, we had to trek down a hill through the neighborhood to get to the place where the bus stopped. This meant if it was really hot or really cold, you suffered it for at least 10 to 15 minutes just to reach the bus stop. Then a bit more waiting for the bus to arrive.

Many conversations and even some arguments took place at that bus stop. There were usually at least 4 of us neighborhood kids there, with different personalities. So, this was to be expected.

On the bus, you BEHAVED! Our driver, Mrs. Rose, was NOT to be messed with. Our bus kids were respectful and quiet, or you simply didn't get to ride anymore. Period. And NO parents wanted that. Even though she was a bit rough around the edges, she could also be kind. Every year, at the end of the school year, she would stop at a place called Keebaugh's (a little restaurant on her route, and let us off for some food and ice cream. It's something I will never forget.

I can say that Mrs. Rose's route took her on some extremely poor back roads. But this didn't stop me from falling asleep on the bus almost every morning. My head would bang against the glass, but I would remain "mostly" asleep during the trip.

Occasionally I would find some of the other kids staring at me and giggling because I was either snoring or drooling. LOL

The kids that I would normally sit with varied a bit. There were times that I sat with kids in my neighborhood, and times when I would sit by myself or with younger kids. Funny how things like that stick with you, even after decades pass.

I had a bus driver named Al. He had Animal hanging up next to his mirror and he would make him talk.

Another driver, named Margo. One day in summer camp, this cool kid Neerij had his boom box, sitting in the back, playing the Batman soundtrack. 'Get the funk up!' Margo glared up into the mirror. She yelled, "Hey! Bring that tape up here!" Oooooooooh, you're in troouuublllllllllle... Neerij slunk up to the front of the bus and handed the tape to Margo. She told him go sit back down. Then she took the tape and put it on the bus radio, turned it way up, and laughed as we pulled out of the parking lot.

shakin steak wrote :

Another driver, named Margo. One day in summer camp, this cool kid Neerij had his boom box, sitting in the back, playing the Batman soundtrack. 'Get the funk up!' Margo glared up into the mirror. She yelled, "Hey! Bring that tape up here!" Oooooooooh, you're in troouuublllllllllle... Neerij slunk up to the front of the bus and handed the tape to Margo. She told him go sit back down. Then she took the tape and put it on the bus radio, turned it way up, and laughed as we pulled out of the parking lot.

There are just no words for how cool that is.

So who can remember their school bus number? It popped in my head today that ours was #21. There was a different number either before or after that one, but #21 is the one I remember.

Mine was Bus 52 in middle school.

I remember when it had arrived everyday after school, the announcement would come on the intercom:

"Bus 52, Bus 52!"

And I got outta the building after such a long day.

I never really got to ride a normal yellow school bus as a kid. I lived on the same street as my grade school, and I took public bus to high school.

my bus was a crazy bunch fighting all the time our bus driver kept a flask of whiskey  in the front and was none to run over stop signs and occasionally drive into the creek but no one ever got hurt on there 

I've never been on a public school bus.  The buses from my school had plush seats and a restroom in the back.