WEBVTT - Ep. 305: This Country Life - Riding the School Bus

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves.

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<v Speaker 1>From coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to stay a while as I share

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<v Speaker 1>my experiences and life lessons. This Country Life is presented

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<v Speaker 1>by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you

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<v Speaker 1>the best outdoor podcast the airwaves have to offer. All right, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some

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<v Speaker 1>stories to share. Riding the school bus. Riding the school

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<v Speaker 1>bus was both a pleasure and a pain, a service

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<v Speaker 1>provided by the school district to allow every kid the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to get an education. Some of the best lessons

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<v Speaker 1>learned happen right there while the wheels go round and round.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to tell you all about some of them.

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<v Speaker 1>But first I'm going to tell you a story. My

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<v Speaker 1>brother Tim was almost seventeen when the school superintendent tapped

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<v Speaker 1>him on the shoulder in the lunch room and told

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<v Speaker 1>him to come to his office. Tim, being a highly

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<v Speaker 1>decorated veteran of Shenanigan's buffoonery, assumed the worse and followed

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<v Speaker 1>mister Tarkington to the office. Unsure as to what he'd

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<v Speaker 1>been caught at, he said he kept his mouth shut

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<v Speaker 1>and didn't say a word and would just wait until

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<v Speaker 1>he knew what he'd been accused of before he started

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<v Speaker 1>his defense or accepted his fate. He didn't want to

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<v Speaker 1>fess up to something that they didn't know about yet.

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<v Speaker 1>That was a rookie mistake, and a rookie he wasn't. Tim,

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to drive a school bus for me.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you do that? Tim was a little surprised. He said, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I can drive it, but I have football practice. Superintendent said, well,

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<v Speaker 1>it won't be every day. Just when I need a substance.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll talk to Coach Johnson. That'll be fine. If you

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<v Speaker 1>want to do it. I'll pay it, just like I

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<v Speaker 1>pay everyone else that drives one. Yes, sir, I'll do it.

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<v Speaker 1>Tim said he had no idea why he picked him

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<v Speaker 1>out of the cafeteria that was filled with students, but

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<v Speaker 1>picked him he did, and now he had a job

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<v Speaker 1>that would put cash in his pocket. Tim Reeves, sixteen

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<v Speaker 1>year old Warren School District substitute bus driver. Times were

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<v Speaker 1>different in nineteen seventy four. Tim's certification consisted of a

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<v Speaker 1>driving test that started at the bus lot located on

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<v Speaker 1>the north end of what was then actually filled where

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<v Speaker 1>the Mighty Lumberjacks squared up against anyone brave enough to

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<v Speaker 1>show up on Friday nights in the fall of the year.

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<v Speaker 1>Just across the fence from the north end zone that

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<v Speaker 1>separated the football field was the bus lot at the

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<v Speaker 1>corner of Seminary and Bryant Street. It's still there today.

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<v Speaker 1>On the appoint Tim met Arkansas State Trooper Jody Roper.

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<v Speaker 1>He was there for his test that consisted of him

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<v Speaker 1>driving out of the bus lot and making one particularly

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<v Speaker 1>difficult turn at the intersection a short distance from the lot.

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<v Speaker 1>Once completed, he gave up his seat to other would

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<v Speaker 1>be substitute drivers who were all adults, and they performed

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<v Speaker 1>the same task. That was it. That was the test.

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<v Speaker 1>Trooper Roper signed off on Tim's license and made it official.

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<v Speaker 1>Times were different in nineteen seventy four. Now. Tim showed

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<v Speaker 1>up at the bus lot one afternoon for one of

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<v Speaker 1>his first assignments after learning that he was needed to

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<v Speaker 1>fill in for a driver who had gone home sick.

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<v Speaker 1>When he got there, the bus supervisor assigned him to

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<v Speaker 1>a bus that he'd never driven before on a route

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<v Speaker 1>he'd never driven before, and told him before he left

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<v Speaker 1>that remember the gas pedal had a tendency to stick

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<v Speaker 1>in the down position. He followed that up with grab

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<v Speaker 1>a young and that lives the furthest from school, and

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<v Speaker 1>they'll tell you where to turn, where to go, and

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<v Speaker 1>you will make all your stops. I'll wait for you here.

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<v Speaker 1>I see you back about five five pm. May sound

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<v Speaker 1>like pretty late, but you've got to remember how rural

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<v Speaker 1>Southeast Arkansas is, and even more so was then. There

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<v Speaker 1>were a lot of kids to take home, and they

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<v Speaker 1>were stretched miles from town all over the county. Tim

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<v Speaker 1>picked a kid up out of the group who said

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<v Speaker 1>he knew all the stops at the first school he

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<v Speaker 1>went to. He agreed to be his guide and would

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<v Speaker 1>pass off the duty to another kid he pointed out

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<v Speaker 1>to Tim, who would help him finish the few stops

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<v Speaker 1>that would remain on his route once he got off

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<v Speaker 1>the bus across the river. Tim's route from school to

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<v Speaker 1>school across town was like clockwork, all the kids piling

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<v Speaker 1>on him, grabbing a seat, his guide giving him updates

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<v Speaker 1>as he made his stops. When kids started getting off

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<v Speaker 1>through the edge of town, down narrow streets and obscure neighborhoods,

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<v Speaker 1>a guy telling him three will get off at the

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<v Speaker 1>next stop, and they did. Two will get off here

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<v Speaker 1>and they did. Keep going. You don't have to stop

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<v Speaker 1>at this one. They ain't on the bus. He said.

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<v Speaker 1>It was like having the first GPS. The kid remembered everything.

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<v Speaker 1>He said. He was right on time and almost done

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<v Speaker 1>with the town portion of the route, and there were

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<v Speaker 1>about twenty kids on the bus with one stop left

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<v Speaker 1>to make before leaving the city limits. His guide said,

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<v Speaker 1>three will get off at the next stop, but they

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<v Speaker 1>won't get off until you turn right on that side street.

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<v Speaker 1>Then you can back up and turn around and we'll

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<v Speaker 1>head out of town. Tim said he was knee deep

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<v Speaker 1>in third gear leaving that last stop, headed for the

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<v Speaker 1>next one when he took his right foot off the gas,

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<v Speaker 1>only to realize it had stayed on the floor. It

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't like he was painting the road red blazing down

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<v Speaker 1>the street, but he could see the intersection where he

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<v Speaker 1>needed to stop and turn for his next stop, and

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<v Speaker 1>the fear in the eyes of the three kids who

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<v Speaker 1>were seated across from him, who were supposed to get

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<v Speaker 1>off at the spot they were approaching with ever increasing velocity.

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<v Speaker 1>Now in hindsight, Tim said, all I had to do

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<v Speaker 1>was mash in the clutch and turn on my flashers, stop,

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<v Speaker 1>reach down and pull the pedal free and go on.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's not what I did, he said. In the

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<v Speaker 1>heat of the moment, he could see there was no

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<v Speaker 1>oncoming traffic in front or falling behind, So he bent over,

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<v Speaker 1>grabbed a pedal, and with all the strength he could muster,

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<v Speaker 1>he pulled it free from its locked position. It took

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<v Speaker 1>longer than he'd anticipated. When he sat upright, he saw

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<v Speaker 1>that while he'd done an excellent job of staying properly

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<v Speaker 1>aligned in the street, he was a lot closer to

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<v Speaker 1>that stop sign and turned that he needed to make

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<v Speaker 1>for his final st up in town. He said, it

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<v Speaker 1>was actually a thing of beauty. Oh. He whooped that

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<v Speaker 1>thing so sharply onto the side street, maneuvering that bus

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<v Speaker 1>like a seasoned veteran stunt driver and stopping at the

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<v Speaker 1>exact place his guide had told him to aim for.

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<v Speaker 1>The only negative was the physics experiment. The remaining kids

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<v Speaker 1>were all unwitting participants of that rattled them around like

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<v Speaker 1>beans in a coffee can. School Books and younguins were

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<v Speaker 1>scattered all around inside the bus. Nobody was crying, and

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<v Speaker 1>a quick look in the mirror had everyone up and

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<v Speaker 1>moving around, gathering up books in each other. No one

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<v Speaker 1>said anything, He said it was rather proud of how

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<v Speaker 1>he'd handled the situation, even though it had scared him

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<v Speaker 1>pretty good. He was lost in thoughts, staring straight down

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<v Speaker 1>the side street in front of him, patting himself on

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<v Speaker 1>the back, and very thankful nothing worse had happened. Now

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<v Speaker 1>he had to back up. It would need his guide

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<v Speaker 1>to help him watch cars. He still had an hour

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<v Speaker 1>or so driving left to deliver the country kids, the

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<v Speaker 1>biggest portion of his route home. He looked up in

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<v Speaker 1>the mirror and he was the only one left on

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<v Speaker 1>the bus. He looked across and down the street, and

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<v Speaker 1>the dozen or so kids that were left took the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to get off the bus right there. Even his

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<v Speaker 1>guide had abandoned him. He said, I don't know how

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<v Speaker 1>they all got home that day. All I know is

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<v Speaker 1>they didn't ride with me, And according to my brother

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<v Speaker 1>tem that's just how that happened. Riding the school bus

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<v Speaker 1>for me was an eleven year pilgrimage to and from

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<v Speaker 1>school with my friends and some of my enemies. Why

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<v Speaker 1>only eleven years and not twelve, because I worked like

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<v Speaker 1>a man possessed during the summer time haul and hay,

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<v Speaker 1>and every Saturday that I wasn't hunting, I was at

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<v Speaker 1>the local sail barn, pushing cows and other livestock through

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<v Speaker 1>the cell All winter I was trapping and selling fur.

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<v Speaker 1>And I saved my money to buy a truck that

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<v Speaker 1>would deliver me back and forth to school and away

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<v Speaker 1>from that bus sized germ filled petri dish of pandemonium.

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<v Speaker 1>Every day was a battle between the forces of good

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<v Speaker 1>and evil, and depending on what grade you were in,

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<v Speaker 1>the amount of joy or pain you endured from the

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<v Speaker 1>time you stepped on until you either walked off triumphantly

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<v Speaker 1>or jumped off in fear for your life. Since eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety two, when the first school car was built up

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<v Speaker 1>in Indiana, parents have been entrusting the welfare of their

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<v Speaker 1>tax deductions to complete strangers who only had to possess

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<v Speaker 1>a good enough sense of direction to find their driveway

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<v Speaker 1>in the schoolhouse. Twice a day. The school car, which

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<v Speaker 1>was a wooden wagon with benches at the youngun sat

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<v Speaker 1>in while staring at the exhaust pipe of a horse,

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<v Speaker 1>ferried the little hoosiers two and from school one step

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<v Speaker 1>at a time. I bet that made for an early

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<v Speaker 1>morning in a long afternoon. It reminds me of being

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<v Speaker 1>in a summertime kindergarten like program in Rising, Arkansas and

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<v Speaker 1>riding the bus home after a long and arduous day

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<v Speaker 1>of learning my numbers and letters, learning how to share

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<v Speaker 1>a space with folks I'd only just met, and the

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<v Speaker 1>grace and how to conduct yourself when your classmates are

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<v Speaker 1>losing teeth left and right and accidentally pooping the breeches

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<v Speaker 1>in recess that and tire young and out to the

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<v Speaker 1>point of mental physical exhaustion. We lived several miles out

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<v Speaker 1>of town into a five year old human of bus

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<v Speaker 1>seats substituted nicely for a bed on a thirty minute commute.

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<v Speaker 1>We were the last stop on the route at that

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<v Speaker 1>location where we lived in so there was plenty of

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<v Speaker 1>time to catch a few z's before we got there.

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<v Speaker 1>Every day, mister Michael Lemmons, a teacher, and our bus

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<v Speaker 1>driver had to get up and find the sea that

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<v Speaker 1>I was snoozing in and wake me up to get

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<v Speaker 1>off the bus. That was in nineteen seventy one, advancing

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<v Speaker 1>ahead a couple of years and in the fall during

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<v Speaker 1>the regular school year. My brother Tim and the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of us waited at the end of the driveway for

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<v Speaker 1>the school bus, just like we did every other day,

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<v Speaker 1>with one exception. Tim was holding a shotgun and wearing

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<v Speaker 1>a shell vest he'd hidden in the covert at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of our drive the night before. That's right, I said,

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<v Speaker 1>the shell vest and shotgun. The bus pulled up as

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<v Speaker 1>if nothing was out of the ordinary, because really it wasn't.

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<v Speaker 1>Tim and his friend Rusty Ramick, who lived back toward town,

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<v Speaker 1>had conspired to go duck hunting instead of school, an

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<v Speaker 1>elaborate scheme that hinged on one thing. Mister Lemmon's buying

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<v Speaker 1>Tim's story. He'd been rehearsing all morning long. The bus

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<v Speaker 1>slowed to a stop and the doors opened up to

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<v Speaker 1>Tim reciting his lines to perfection. Mister Lemmon's mama said,

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<v Speaker 1>my grades were so good that I could skip school

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<v Speaker 1>today and go duck hunting with Rusty. Can you let

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<v Speaker 1>me off at his house? Mister Lemmons looked at Tim.

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<v Speaker 1>He never changed his expression, and he said, Tim, as

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<v Speaker 1>your shotgunloaded, No, sir, all right, sit here behind me,

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<v Speaker 1>so me Our middle brother, Chuck and heavily armed Tim

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<v Speaker 1>filed onto the bus, taking our regular seats, and Tim

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<v Speaker 1>sliding into his spot behind the driver's seat, grinning like

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<v Speaker 1>a possum chewing on a wire brush. A few miles later,

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<v Speaker 1>he stepped off the bus at Rusty's House and into

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<v Speaker 1>the school skipping Hall of Fame. Two fourteen years year

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<v Speaker 1>old boys had just hacked the school system into being

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<v Speaker 1>there accomplice for a day of duck under on the

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<v Speaker 1>Saline River. No one ever squealed and Mama never found

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<v Speaker 1>out what happened on the bus. Stayed on the bus.

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<v Speaker 1>But riding the bus was a privilege, not a right.

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<v Speaker 1>There was a decorum to be followed in penalties for

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<v Speaker 1>when you didn't. My buddy Michael Roseman and his sister Stephanie,

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<v Speaker 1>the dynamic duo behind the sun spot hunting lights, told

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<v Speaker 1>me once they were riding the bus when a fight

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<v Speaker 1>broke out in the back. The bus driver was famous

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<v Speaker 1>for hollering at the kids to get your head back

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<v Speaker 1>in the window, but the fight was started by a

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<v Speaker 1>bully who terrorized everyone on the bus for so long

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<v Speaker 1>that finally someone had taking a stand. The bullet started

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<v Speaker 1>losing not only the fight but his reign of fear

0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:57.880
<v Speaker 1>over the rest of the students went miraculously. The emergency

0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:00.680
<v Speaker 1>exit door opened when the bus stopped at a stop sign,

0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:05.280
<v Speaker 1>and the bully fell or was pushed out onto the street.

0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.280
<v Speaker 1>Seeing everything from the driver's seat in the big mirror

0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:13.440
<v Speaker 1>that tells all, the bus driver drove away, leaving the

0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.600
<v Speaker 1>bullet standing there, defeated in no other recourse but to

0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:22.320
<v Speaker 1>walk the rest of the way home. Bullies usually get

0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:24.960
<v Speaker 1>their due if they run a foul long enough. It

0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:29.920
<v Speaker 1>is the course of justice and the way of the bus.

0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.560
<v Speaker 1>I remember another time we'd moved from Rising and started

0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.920
<v Speaker 1>going to school in Warren. It was Tim's junior year

0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.760
<v Speaker 1>and I was eight. We were riding the bus Number five,

0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:43.640
<v Speaker 1>driven by one of the best men I've ever had

0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:48.120
<v Speaker 1>the pleasure to meet, mister Moses Williams, known to everyone

0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:51.760
<v Speaker 1>as mister Mobs. He went to work in the school

0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.800
<v Speaker 1>districts of Bradley County, Arkansas as a bus driver and

0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:59.520
<v Speaker 1>mechanic in nineteen forty eight, and for the next fifty

0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:03.080
<v Speaker 1>seven years, mister Mose piloted a yellow school bus, retiring

0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:07.280
<v Speaker 1>in two thousand and five after driving what I estimated

0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:09.840
<v Speaker 1>to be to the moon and back. Several times over

0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:15.440
<v Speaker 1>and not once having an accident, not once. He wore

0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:18.160
<v Speaker 1>navy blue Dickies work pants and a matching shirt and

0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:23.320
<v Speaker 1>tucked neatly inside. His pants were always ironed and always clean.

0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.240
<v Speaker 1>A faded red shop rag hung from his back pocket,

0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:31.200
<v Speaker 1>ready when needed. Time of year dictated whether his shirts

0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:35.280
<v Speaker 1>were long and short sleeve. A black leather belt, polished

0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.280
<v Speaker 1>black leather shoes, and a brown cap with small red

0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:41.480
<v Speaker 1>and yellow stripes that followed the seams of worthy panels

0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:45.520
<v Speaker 1>were sewn together. It was what he wore every day.

0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.880
<v Speaker 1>He smelled of aftershave with a hen of diesel lava soap.

0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:54.600
<v Speaker 1>Sitting next to him made me feel like a king.

0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:58.360
<v Speaker 1>I sat beside him both days on the flat spot

0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:00.920
<v Speaker 1>of the console that housed all the rocker switches for

0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:03.880
<v Speaker 1>the bus number five that controlled the lights beside the

0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:09.760
<v Speaker 1>driver's side window. That was not a seat, not by

0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.600
<v Speaker 1>any means was it intended for a child to sit on.

0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:16.000
<v Speaker 1>But what it was was a place of honor for

0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.520
<v Speaker 1>the boys that acted good and were respectful with the

0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:23.280
<v Speaker 1>actions and manners. That was a lot of things, young

0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:27.400
<v Speaker 1>and mischievous and somewhat feral at times, but at no

0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:33.800
<v Speaker 1>time was not ever disrespectful, especially to mister Mose. There

0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:39.080
<v Speaker 1>were others, however, who were We're gonna call him Billy,

0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.920
<v Speaker 1>and Billy was a year younger than Tim, but several

0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.840
<v Speaker 1>grades behind him. Billy was a veteran bus rider of

0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.680
<v Speaker 1>mister Moses' bus, and we were more or less the

0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:51.760
<v Speaker 1>new kids. And while I had earned somewhat of a

0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.800
<v Speaker 1>lofty position getting the set next to mister Mose and

0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.680
<v Speaker 1>turn on and off the bus lights, Tim and Chuck

0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.720
<v Speaker 1>sat close to the back, which seemed to be universally

0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:04.880
<v Speaker 1>where the older and the cool kids sat. Junior high

0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.320
<v Speaker 1>and elementary students filled the gaps in between the high

0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.920
<v Speaker 1>schoolers in the front of the bus, where I concentrated

0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:12.080
<v Speaker 1>on when I was going to get to light up

0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:15.480
<v Speaker 1>the blinking lights at the next stop. I wasn't concerned

0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:20.280
<v Speaker 1>with what happened behind me. Mister Moles was. I can

0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.040
<v Speaker 1>see him now, a small framed, lean man. You could

0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:26.159
<v Speaker 1>see the muscles and the veins in his arms as

0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.480
<v Speaker 1>he man handled the school bus down the road with

0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.720
<v Speaker 1>no more piasteering than a stick horse. Driving down the

0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.280
<v Speaker 1>road and watching on coming traffic while glancing in the

0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:38.280
<v Speaker 1>mirror that revealed what buffoonery Billy was up to, which

0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:42.879
<v Speaker 1>was usually picking on someone smaller than him. Mister Mose

0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:46.320
<v Speaker 1>was famous for saying, y'all tightened up, back there, tighten

0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:50.240
<v Speaker 1>up now. It was as animated as he got it,

0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:52.919
<v Speaker 1>but he didn't have to raise his voice much. It

0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:55.480
<v Speaker 1>worked on the rest of us, like your grandpa getting

0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:59.040
<v Speaker 1>on to you. Nobody wanted mister mos upset with him,

0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:05.480
<v Speaker 1>except Billy. He didn't care. You could see the frustration

0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 1>of mister Moses's face any time he had to get

0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.200
<v Speaker 1>on to anyone. Why can't you just ride the bus

0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:15.040
<v Speaker 1>and be good to your neighbor. Like mister Mose, he

0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:17.680
<v Speaker 1>was the standard for which manners could have been taught.

0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:23.000
<v Speaker 1>We all followed his lead, except Billy. He didn't care.

0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:27.960
<v Speaker 1>The day of the incident started out as any other.

0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:30.800
<v Speaker 1>We'd all been on the bus for several stops on

0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.520
<v Speaker 1>the way to school that morning, when on one of

0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.320
<v Speaker 1>the last stops before kids started getting dropped off at

0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:39.720
<v Speaker 1>the appropriate school, Billy got on with the rest of

0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:46.000
<v Speaker 1>the kids at his spot. The bullying began immediately before

0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:48.199
<v Speaker 1>Billy had gotten into his seat. He was picking on

0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:50.800
<v Speaker 1>a smaller kid who was a regular target of Billy's

0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:53.720
<v Speaker 1>and no doubt dreading the next few minutes of terror

0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:56.680
<v Speaker 1>before he could escape the confines of the bus Number five,

0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:02.400
<v Speaker 1>and Billy's hour had apparently anticipated what was coming on,

0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:05.480
<v Speaker 1>because he'd already setting out one y'all tightened up back

0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:10.480
<v Speaker 1>there before Billy had sat down, with no more lights

0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:12.320
<v Speaker 1>to turn off, since the next door was for me

0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.800
<v Speaker 1>to get off the bus. I looked back, and I

0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:17.960
<v Speaker 1>watched Billy as he antagonized a kid who was in

0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.080
<v Speaker 1>my grave, thumping him on the head and taking his

0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:25.320
<v Speaker 1>books away from him. Billy laughing, his unkept, greasy hair

0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.879
<v Speaker 1>swaying back and forth as he laughed his evil, tormenting

0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:32.760
<v Speaker 1>laugh like a mad scientist on my classmate, coward of

0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:37.160
<v Speaker 1>deceit in the fetal position. And I saw my brother

0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:41.760
<v Speaker 1>Tim stand up as soon mister Moles saw it too.

0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:45.560
<v Speaker 1>Tim had a hard backed textbook in his right hand,

0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:50.560
<v Speaker 1>and in two steps he was standing beside Billy. The

0:19:50.600 --> 0:19:54.320
<v Speaker 1>rest played out like a dream. Tim cockt that book

0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:57.639
<v Speaker 1>back like it was a cold peacemaker. Billy turned to

0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:00.080
<v Speaker 1>look at him, still laughing at the little kid, but

0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:02.720
<v Speaker 1>he was terrorizing, who now slumped down in the floor

0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:05.159
<v Speaker 1>in the litter and goo. That seems to be the

0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:10.120
<v Speaker 1>standard for every bus I've ever ridden on. With lightning

0:20:10.240 --> 0:20:13.520
<v Speaker 1>precision and speed, Tim slapped Billy into the next zip

0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:17.680
<v Speaker 1>code with that book. The explosion of the blow plastered

0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:19.960
<v Speaker 1>that greasy hair to the left side of his head,

0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:23.119
<v Speaker 1>and the right side stuck straight out like he combed

0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:27.360
<v Speaker 1>it with a fire cracker. There was an immediate silence

0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:30.560
<v Speaker 1>on the bus, the echo of that blow resounding through

0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:34.600
<v Speaker 1>the crowd. Tim reached and grabbed Billy by the shirt collar,

0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:37.000
<v Speaker 1>and he pulled him close, speaking to him where only

0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:39.520
<v Speaker 1>Billy could hear what he was saying. All the while

0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:41.560
<v Speaker 1>Billy rubbed the left side of his face that was

0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:44.720
<v Speaker 1>now red as a barn door and imprinted with the

0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:49.920
<v Speaker 1>thread pattern of that school book. Billy listened in tently

0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:53.680
<v Speaker 1>him shoved him down in his seat when he finished talking,

0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:58.160
<v Speaker 1>and walked back and sat down where he'd been. Mister

0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:01.440
<v Speaker 1>Moles let out one more complimentary y'all tightened up back

0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:10.280
<v Speaker 1>there and never said another word, neither did Billy. As

0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:12.200
<v Speaker 1>far as the Reeves Boys and Billy go, it would

0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:14.880
<v Speaker 1>be twenty years later before he got another tune up.

0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:17.960
<v Speaker 1>I decided Billy needed to go to jail one night

0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:19.840
<v Speaker 1>for a warmth that had been issued for him, and

0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:24.040
<v Speaker 1>I happened upon him during a traffic stop. Billy decided

0:21:24.240 --> 0:21:27.760
<v Speaker 1>he would not go well. We settled at the old

0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:33.000
<v Speaker 1>bus number five way, he got tightened up and he went.

0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:38.400
<v Speaker 1>None of my kids have ever regularly ridden a bus

0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:41.560
<v Speaker 1>to school. Field trips and sporting events have been their

0:21:41.640 --> 0:21:45.600
<v Speaker 1>only exposure, and I feel like it been somewhat cheated.

0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:49.240
<v Speaker 1>The school bus is a great place for kids to

0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:53.280
<v Speaker 1>learn life lessons, just like mister Moles taught us. Good

0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:58.280
<v Speaker 1>actions are rewarded and the lesson Tim taught Billy bad

0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:03.760
<v Speaker 1>actions have repercussion. And then there's all the other lessons

0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:06.600
<v Speaker 1>you learn on there, like how you might wind up

0:22:06.640 --> 0:22:09.240
<v Speaker 1>sitting with someone that you don't know, or for one

0:22:09.280 --> 0:22:12.359
<v Speaker 1>reason or another you may not like because it's the

0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:16.359
<v Speaker 1>only open seat left. You're forced to coexist for a

0:22:16.400 --> 0:22:19.439
<v Speaker 1>period of time someplace you'd rather not be. But in

0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:23.719
<v Speaker 1>the end, your suffering or momentary discomfort didn't keep you

0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:26.840
<v Speaker 1>from where you were going, which was your purpose for

0:22:27.040 --> 0:22:31.960
<v Speaker 1>being there to begin with. As adults, we have to

0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:36.080
<v Speaker 1>do that in our everyday lives, except we substitute the

0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:39.320
<v Speaker 1>school bus our life goals and the struggles we end

0:22:39.400 --> 0:22:43.960
<v Speaker 1>you're to reach them now. That's a great lesson and

0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:51.800
<v Speaker 1>one that you're never too young to learn. Thank y'all

0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:54.560
<v Speaker 1>so much for listening to this country Life, Bear, Greece

0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:57.760
<v Speaker 1>and the Render. There's a lot of great content available

0:22:57.760 --> 0:23:00.280
<v Speaker 1>from Me to Eater. Jason and Dirk do some good

0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:03.240
<v Speaker 1>stuff on they're calling over at the Cutting the Distance,

0:23:03.280 --> 0:23:05.800
<v Speaker 1>and Tony Peterson has some good stuff coming out on

0:23:05.840 --> 0:23:08.800
<v Speaker 1>his Foundation show y'all check them out when you get

0:23:08.800 --> 0:23:12.960
<v Speaker 1>a chance. Until next week, This is Brent Reeves site

0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:15.200
<v Speaker 1>and off y'all be careful