Point of No Return

Back in the day, I was a frequent bus rider. 

City bus drivers knew me by my name. My brother and I rode the city bus to school, since the yellow school buses did not pick up in our neighborhood. We paid $.05 a ride and were dropped off right in front of our school.

Even after I began teaching, I rode the city bus to work each morning and evening. One time I remember that I was the only white face on the bus and even frightened myself when I looked into the mirror as I exited. But I had a ride. And for someone who waited until she was 30 to get her driver's license, that was important. (Story about the driver's license in a future blog post.) 

Buses were not always dependable, but they usually got me where I needed to go. (Or at least somewhere down the street or around the corner!) 

When I moved to a larger city in my state, the city buses were not so regular and rarely went where I wanted to go. So I was able to "carpool" with teaching colleagues who passed my apartment on the way to work. 

I also began making use of Continental Trailways so that I could go back home to visit my folks. I had traveled that way while in college in the northeastern part of my state, and the hassle of getting to and from the bus station was always a problem that sometimes was more expensive than the actual bus ride.

This morning our 30 year old son is taking a real gamble. He needs to come pick up an extra vehicle from our house, and the quickest and cheapest way here is by bus. A Casino Bus! As we live near a huge casino, we have seen tourbus after tourbus roll down the highway from the big city where he lives to the casino near us. 

So he is on the bus to arrive in a couple of hours. After a nice lunch at the casino and maybe a few slots, then he won't return. Not with the bus, anyway. We are taking him home with us. 

This was my lunch at the Casino. Fried catfish and tartar sauce, hush puppies, cajun french fries, cole slaw, and a roll. I brought home half of this! Thank goodness for "boxes."