Day 1 Mentors

My last post signed off with the promise of introducing Phillip and the K-child. I'll get to them. Believe me, there are a ton of Phillips and crying K-children. I won't forget Phillip.

Back to Day 1
First day as a bus driver I was a passenger. Front seat, notebook in hand, busy jotting down the route, bus stops, difficult turns to watch out for, etc. This morning run was driven by a quiet man who patiently expained bus driving things as we meandered along the route.

Instruction from the Potty
The afternoon driver.... speaks for itself. The first thing this big bellied, know everyone, good hearted man bellowed to me was: "Rule number 1. Don't let them give you any SH#@!!"

"Okay", I mewed.

Because of the speed at which he drove the bus and took the turns, I was concentrating on my task of notetaking yet I managed to hear a little voice across the aisle. Two little angels were looking at me, eyes big and expectant. "What did you say, sweetheart?", I asked. "Would you like to play I-Spy with us?", he asked breathlessly, as though he were offering me a million bucks. What did the driver mean by take no SH#@?

Middle School
Now I know what he meant by take no SH#@. Foul mouth continued spewing forth his sage advice, peppered with SH##s and BIT##s and DAM$s and more SH#$S, as he attacked the winding road, foot pressed full on the throttle. "Language!!" he roared, suddenly, looking in the rear view mirror. I never heard the offending word, and I was amazed that such a potty mouth (learned that word from the mid schoolers) would even notice. Apparently he does not tolerate offensive language on his bus.

The middle school run has become my favorite. Foul language has been squashed, thanks to tattle telling girls..who have pointed out the 'potty mouths'. Middle school girls tattle!

This week I assigned three boys to the front seats. Troublemakers. Having them up front enabled me to get to know them a little. They're not so bad. They're kids.