Opinion

Riding the big yellow bus

Wednesday, October 3, 2001

Outside, the rural scenery rushes by. Pastures, cornfields, farmhouses and silos are framed by rows of sliding windows. Inside, the girls sit two-in-a-seat. Some are listening to headphones. Others lean together over the seat-backs, laughing and talking about the day 's events at school.

All of us are packed together, shoulder-to-shoulder, companions on the big yellow bus as we motor to an out-of-town volleyball game.

I remember riding the activities bus as a student, and a few things have changed since my day. Instead of joining in multiple choruses of "Little Rabbit FuFu" or "I'm Bringing Home My Baby Bumble Bee" to pass the time, the girls are more apt to pass around their personal CD players and "jam" to their own private musical selections.

And if players forget vital equipment, like tennis shoes or hair ties, they can pick up their cell phones and call mom or dad to the rescue, rather than relaying the distress signal via bus-driver radio. But most things about riding the bus haven't changed. One girl always distinguishes herself as the most talented hair-braider on the team. She works her magic to create fancy pigtails or ponytails for the other players during the drive. The seats are still every bit as uncomfortable, accentuating the apparent absence of shock absorbers on yellow buses. And the snacks brought on board are still the most valued cargo items.

On our last trip, I took a few minutes to poll the players. What were their favorite things about riding the bus? The number one answer was GIRL TALK, hands down.

After that came food, music, teasing the bus driver, and "getting mentally prepared for the game, Coach Bottom." (Laugh out loud.)

Their least favorite aspects of a ride on the big yellow bus were: wondering if they had forgotten something; not being able to read the homework they wrote out while bouncing down the highway; poking themselves in the eye with a brow-liner pencil while peering into a tiny hand mirror. And the very worst of all? The long, long ride home if they lost the game. On longer trips, the girls always pack blankets and pillows. An hour into the ride, they're snoring away, propped against one another's shoulders, or leaning against the windows at the side of the bus.

In hot weather, the big yellow bus becomes our big yellow sauna. With the windows down, hot air swirls like a hurricane, confounding the efforts of the hair braider. When the trip ends and we prepare to file from the fold-out doors, it takes two minutes just to peel our legs from the sticky vinyl seats.

In cold weather, everyone huddles together under their favorite childhood quilts, or their tattered football blankets. Either way, no one's ever happy with the temperature. And the windows always jam open in February, and closed in August. It's part of some unwritten, bus-riding law.

Maybe the seniors I polled summed it up best when they admitted they'll miss their regular rides on the big yellow bus, once they've graduated from high school.

I think what they'll really miss is the camaraderie, and the chance to compete against their "foes" (mostly friends) from other schools.

Those long trips on the big yellow bus are a schoolhood rite of passage. Tedious and uncomfortable as they can be, I agree with the seniors. When I'm finally done riding the activity bus, I'm sure I'll miss it.

It's a kind of camaraderie strengthens friendships and enhances teamwork. When it's over, I think I'll wish for the company.

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