bus route

Bus 134: The highway's not going to hell--the bus is it.

The Drive

Nearly an hour each way, from MHS to home on the Goshen road. I was the first to be picked up, and the last to be dropped off.

My bus route is directly responsible for my love of South Park. I would stare enviously at the students who could walk home. I spent a good few hours of my life during high school envying these students and the extra hour they had each day that wasn't spent on a bus or getting to school. I dreamed of my first apartment, one where I would be able to walk to everything.

The Driver

Her name was Shirley, and she had to have been in her late fifties, with short hair and glasses--but her eyes were so watchful she arguably didn't need them. Any time someone was eating candy, or drinking a soda, or chewing gum, she would stop the bus, pull over, and walk over to the offender, holding a plastic trash bag, and collect the item. Multiple stops frequently added ten minutes to the bus route.

The Bus

Bus 134, the only bus that was more than 10 years old because the driver didn't want a new one. The bus had broken windows and no heat, and it frequently broke down. But Shirley didn't want a new bus because she was afraid the students would tear up and destroy a new one. She was probably right, but it was easier to blame her as the reason why I could see my breath on the bus, riding to school in January.

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