When I went to Timnath Elementary School a decade or two ago, I always rode the bus to and from school.
So one day, on a rural road back home, the bus driver pulled the bus aside. Instead of scolding us for shouting or throwing crap, which was the usual motivation for an unscheduled stop, a sixth-grader sitting right behind her stood up. He then proceeded to raise a Rock-'Em Sock-'Em Robots game into the air. He then, over the course of a minute or two, explained the dynamics and the features of the game, and what one had to do to win the game. He had a volunteer man the red robot as he fought with the blue one. After a few seconds of plastic robot-on-robot violence, a red plastic head popped up when the blue robot had emerged victorious. He thanked everyone for their attention, sat down, and then the bus pulled off again.
Now, THAT was a guy with public speaking skills! I realize only now that that was perhaps one of the most surreal moments of my life. At the time, I probably just thought, "Ooh, Wadical!"
Some of my other strange bus moments:
1. Slamming my face against the seat in front of me. At least it was only a one-time occurrence. The sad part was that the driver was only going 5 miles an hour, and he slammed on the brakes to demonstrate the importance of sitting face-forward. And he warned us before he did it that he was going to do it. I guess I didn´t believe him. But, now I realize the importance of sitting face-forward in a bus...OR DO I??
2. The time I was waiting at the bus stop, only to realize that I had forgotten something at home. I ran home, and ran back to find the bus arrived and my Garfield lunch box crushed under its front wheel. The repentant bus driver, bless her heart, tried to make amends by buying me another yellow lunch box and giving it to me on the ride back in the afternoon. Only thing was, it was a Popples lunch box. If I´d have known how to swear then, I´m sure I would have come up with something colorful, but instead I just had to opt for lunchtime ridicule for a few years until I pestered my mom enough to get me a Back To The Future lunchbox.
So one day, on a rural road back home, the bus driver pulled the bus aside. Instead of scolding us for shouting or throwing crap, which was the usual motivation for an unscheduled stop, a sixth-grader sitting right behind her stood up. He then proceeded to raise a Rock-'Em Sock-'Em Robots game into the air. He then, over the course of a minute or two, explained the dynamics and the features of the game, and what one had to do to win the game. He had a volunteer man the red robot as he fought with the blue one. After a few seconds of plastic robot-on-robot violence, a red plastic head popped up when the blue robot had emerged victorious. He thanked everyone for their attention, sat down, and then the bus pulled off again.
Now, THAT was a guy with public speaking skills! I realize only now that that was perhaps one of the most surreal moments of my life. At the time, I probably just thought, "Ooh, Wadical!"
Some of my other strange bus moments:
1. Slamming my face against the seat in front of me. At least it was only a one-time occurrence. The sad part was that the driver was only going 5 miles an hour, and he slammed on the brakes to demonstrate the importance of sitting face-forward. And he warned us before he did it that he was going to do it. I guess I didn´t believe him. But, now I realize the importance of sitting face-forward in a bus...OR DO I??
2. The time I was waiting at the bus stop, only to realize that I had forgotten something at home. I ran home, and ran back to find the bus arrived and my Garfield lunch box crushed under its front wheel. The repentant bus driver, bless her heart, tried to make amends by buying me another yellow lunch box and giving it to me on the ride back in the afternoon. Only thing was, it was a Popples lunch box. If I´d have known how to swear then, I´m sure I would have come up with something colorful, but instead I just had to opt for lunchtime ridicule for a few years until I pestered my mom enough to get me a Back To The Future lunchbox.
3. Driving a bus for 6 years. I still can´t believe I did that.
365: Picture a Day Project 365 Leftovers All My Pictures Sitzbook
1 comment:
Those memories are funny! 100% Dorky good times. Ha ha! I can imagine you as a gangly awkward youth...
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