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<\/a>Virginia.\u00c2\u00a0 And in central Virginia, riding the bus was for, you know, THOSE people.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though there was a bus stop a block away, and a frequently-arriving bus that would transport him to a stop directly across from the front gate of the college where he taught, I can pretty much guarantee that the notion of riding that bus never once crossed my father’s mind.\u00c2\u00a0 Ever.\u00c2\u00a0 (If the car was out of order he’d get a ride with a colleague.)<\/p>\nEach morning, he’d pile us kids in the car, drop us off at school, and go merrily on his way to work, where he would park and leave the car for the rest of the day.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what men did.\u00c2\u00a0 The fact that my mother therefore had no transportation didn’t enter into it, nor did the fact that we kids had to walk home from school, every day, regardless of the weather.\u00c2\u00a0 (No, this isn’t one of those “uphill both ways barefoot in the snow” stories–most of the time, we didn’t mind walking that mile.)\u00c2\u00a0 Needless to say, the idea of taking a bus anywhere didn’t occur to my mother, either.<\/p>\n
However, I had no problem with it.\u00c2\u00a0 If I could wheedle the money out of a parent, I could go all kinds of places.\u00c2\u00a0 Two bucks would finance a trip to the movies downtown, plus drinks and popcorn, for my oldest brother and me, and my mom started trusting me to manage that destination when I was nine or ten.\u00c2\u00a0 I got myself to school and back on the bus after I transferred out of the mile-away elementary school.<\/p>\n
To be honest, I liked riding the bus then, and I like riding the bus now.\u00c2\u00a0 Granted, I don’t ride it anywhere near as often any more–public transit in Los Angeles sucks, and getting to most useful destinations via the MTA can most charitably be described as slow.\u00c2\u00a0 However, I take the local bus service to and from my class at the community college each week and I still feel the same about bus travel as I did as a kid.<\/p>\n
There’s a great sense of equal community on the bus.\u00c2\u00a0 Here we all are, from our different spheres, having one very important thing in common.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re all on the bus.\u00c2\u00a0 I have noticed that the old rules don’t seem to apply any more, though–in my youth, any kid who didn’t break land speed records getting up to offer his\/her seat to an older person would be ordered to do so in no uncertain terms.\u00c2\u00a0 Nowadays, I seem to be the only person who ever offers a seat to an older person, and for pity’s sake, I’m pushing 60 myself.<\/p>\n
If you haven’t ridden a bus lately, give it a try.\u00c2\u00a0 Pick someplace you can get to easily and go.\u00c2\u00a0 You might be pleasantly surprised by the experience–if you can get some zoned-out kid to give you a seat. I don’t remember exactly when I took my first ride on a city bus.\u00c2\u00a0 I do know I was in grade school at the time, and it’s just about 100% guaranteed that neither of my parents was with me. My … Continue reading
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<\/a> photo credit: Xaragmata<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"