"HELLO, I'M YOUR BUS DRIVER, TOO!"

"HELLO, I'M YOUR BUS DRIVER, TOO!"

Laughing as he takes two steps onto the deck, darling hubby, local bus driver, says, "There's some kid out there who's missing his homework, hungry, and can't see where he's going."  And he chuckles at his own joke as he winks at me.

"I handed over -- to the bus barn secretary -- some homework papers, a lunch sack, and some glasses.    Those are just some of the things I found on the bus after I dropped the kids off and was about to sanitize the bus."  And he laughs again.

He has to sanitize the bus after each run which is about 4 times a day.  He's so glad to be back at work after an extended summer break due to coronavirus self-isolation.


In the days just before school started, he would call a parent to confirm rules and pick-up times.  He reminisced about last year when he went to pick up a girl and there were two younger ones behind the girl jumping up and down.  Though too young, they just all wanted to go to school!

#1.  "Hello, I'm your bus driver, #42, and I want to be sure you know that masks are required.  I see you have two children, not just one, going this year?  Will they be riding the bus?"

Parent:  "PLEASE!  Come get them!"

#2.  Leaving a message on a mother's voice mail, "Hello, I'm your daughter's bus driver, bus number 42.   I'm calling to remind you of the new rules.  One is there can only be one student per seat, and the other is everyone has to wear a face mask.  Please call me back at this number."

After darling hubby called her several more times without ever getting a return call he went in to report to his boss.  Boss says, "Well, I have the dad's number.  I'll call him." The dad answers and declares, "Just sit right there, she [the mother] WILL call!"

Settled!

#3.  Leaving yet another message, "Hello, I'm your bus driver again this year, #42.  Please give me a call for times and regulations.  Thank you."

This person never ever returned any of his calls.  I asked, "So what did you do?"

He says,  "I picked her up."
Surprised, I quizzed, "You picked her up?"

"Yep.  Driving my route I recognized her, she was standing on the side of the road."  He shrugs, "I stopped and picked her up!" then grins and chuckles.

With a hint of what's to come, his first story of this new school year is "She's a little doll.   She showed me her favorite picture on the screen of her notepad.  It was her cat.  "This is Pickles."

Hubby asks, "Does Pickles like pickles?" she shakes her head, "Ew, no",

And then there's today's story, "She's so young and sweet, but she tells things she ought not tell like "Dad and Emmy [stepmother] had a fight last night and she called him a horse's ass."

And we're off!  Off on another school-year of adventures like boys wandering seat to seat to visit, even with their masks on, and "No, the superintendents kids won't be riding the bus", and a big yellow school bus full of mislaid items.

Or were they?