The B 69

With the new school year right around the corner (the kids show up tomorrow) I realized it was time to post a couple of my bus experiences from last spring.

From September '99 to April '07, I was lucky enough to be able to walk to work. I still could but it would probably take me 35+ minutes so I take the bus. I share the bus with a lot of middle schoolers. Some of whom always sat behind me for a good portion of the ride.

Every morning, they were quite loud and they cursed like drunken sailors. Gotta love middle schoolers! One morning, a woman on the bus decided to talk to them. She got up from her seat and sat down next to them.

Women: You are so nice. You are great kids. You are so full of energy. I hear you everyday having so much fun. But you know cursing is not nice.

The kids were all silent.

Woman: When I see you tomorrow you will be happy. You are good kids but no cursing, right? God bless you. No one wants to hear you curse. Plus it makes you look bad. God bless.

The kids were still silent. When they got off the bus, they all started cracking up in the universal middle schooler's way of saving face.

Another time, another kid called out to me, "Hey white dude! Hey white dude!" I pretended not to hear but I guess I should have responded just to see what he wanted. I won't make the same mistake this year.

Lastly, I also overheard a great conversation amongst a few of them about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. One kid kept asking his friend if he had seen it. He kept trying to describe it to his friend. "Oh man, that shit was funny. It had like Abraham Lincoln and some other guy in it."

What's will this year's bus adventures yield?