So my parents are here for a short visit. Very fun. They came to see Matthew get baptized. The best thing about having family here is all the reminiscing that goes on. Things I haven’t thought of for years come up. Stuff that cracks me up or makes me think.

I feel like I need to write it down. Why not here? While I’m at it… I’m taking requests. Something you’ve wondered about? Might jog a memory that is fun to share, so feel free to ask. Not sure why I’m starting with this story, but here goes:

First Person I Truly Despised.

I had a bus driver. I don’t remember his name. But the man really creeped me out. For the first time in my perfect little childhood, I was fearful for my life. I thought about how sometimes bad stuff happens to little girls and thought that perhaps there was something sinister about this guy.

No offense to bus drivers, but who gets a job driving school buses? It can’t pay a lot. There aren’t a ton of hours on a job like that. So to begin with, I’d have to question one’s motivation for doing it in the first place. One check against him, just for his job.

So every day, I had to put my life in the sweaty hands of this questionable character. I can still see him, his thin greasy hair combed straight back off his forehead, his body curled over the wheel as I boarded the bus. He’d watch me as I climbed the steps, his face contorted into something that I’m sure he thought was a smile, but looked to me more like a sneer. His eyes squinting, his top lip curling up over red gums. His front teeth had obviously gotten in a bitter argument and had taken up residence as far from each other as they could in his mouth. And the argument must’ve involved Toothbrush because from the looks of those teeth, Toothbrush hadn’t paid a visit in quite a while. Maybe it was a love triangle gone bad between Tooth One, Tooth Two, and Toothbrush. I don’t know what happened, but it was ugly. Battle lines had definitely been drawn. No offense to people with bad teeth. But seriously, you have to TRY to look as bad as he did.

But it wasn’t the way this man looked that grossed me out (I’m fine with people being ugly. People can’t really help being ugly, so I can look beyond that). It was the way he looked at me. I would catch him staring at me in the huge mirror that school bus drivers have above their heads to make sure kids are behaving themselves. EYES ON THE ROAD, MONSTER! And when I’d catch him looking at me, it was like he’d been waiting for me and he’d do that creepy smile/sneer combo that made my stomach try to evacuate from the nearest window. And who knows, if those stupid school bus windows weren’t so impossible to open, my stomach might have successfully escaped. I’ll never know.

And in addition to the creepy way he looked at me, was the fact that he had a nickname for me. "See you tomorrow, Goldie Coat." The thought of him saying that still strike fear into my heart. My fingers get weak and shaky and can barely type because it makes me scared. See you tomorrow. As if tomorrow was the day. Tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow he’d just take a little detour. NOT return us home, but drive us down one of those orchard roads that just disappear into nowhere. Who’s stopping him? A bunch of 3rd graders? A freckly girl with a yellow coat? Not likely. I don’t know what happened to Creepy Bus Driver, but do I know I was elated when one day, a different face smiled at me when I got on the bus that morning.