The Bus Ride

I woke up to my dad singing, "Wake up, get out of bed, drag a comb across your head. The weather is nice, so don't think twice about going to sleep instead!" This was odd because my dad did not live with the family. He lived miles away in the city of Newport Beach. I hardly ever got to see him so waking up and getting out of bed was not a problem. "You are about to learn more in one day than you ever have in your whole life!", he said. I got dressed and ran with him out the door. My dad was the most spontaneous goofball you could ever meet. One time, he took my brother and I to see Jumanji at the dollar theatre in Costa Mesa and decided that since we got the back row seats and the whole place was packed that he was going to fill up his jumbo popcorn bucket with water and pour it down the steep decline of the floor. Of course, with the intention of getting everyone wet. Yep, that's my dad! Anyway, so our first destination was to an AA meeting. By the way, I was only 12. We sat around this long rectangular shaped table with about 20 others. People of all different ages, professions and races together at the table. The only difference between them and I was that I did not have to be there and that I did not have to introduce myself as, "My name is (name) and I am an alcoholic." The meeting was 2 hours long which gave plenty of time for storytelling. There was this old man who happened to be sitting across from me and practically had been through every pot hole and cactus field in existence. He was extremely witty and entertaining which left us slapping the table and laughing in tears on our way out the door. "Off to the Bus Stop!", my dad shouted. We had to take the bus because my dad got caught drinking and driving again and got his license suspended. As we stepped on the bus, we bought a pass that would take us to Newport. We cruised on the bus with only a few other passengers all the way up till we hit riverside. Different people of all ages and professions once again, surrounded us. People getting on the bus and off the bus. I almost wish that I could have recorded this whole trip and made a time lapse out of it. Anyway, there were several people that felt the need to share stories with us. Popular topics were of reasons why they were on the bus instead of driving in a car of their own and where they were headed. There was this homeless lady who had these incredible stories that I will never let leave my memory. "Nobody ever seems to attempt to talk to me because of how I look on the outside", she said while placing her hand on her forehead. She had out lived her two sons, three daughters and husband and became homeless 4 years previous to our conversation. She had so much character with her taped up glasses, oily and knotted hair, sea foam green teeth and muddy feet. She spoke to me with more emotion than I could ever think of anyone ever possessing. So the day went on and hours passed as my dad and I got on one bus and off another. I remember sprinting down a few crowded streets to make some of the stops. The bus got even more crowded as we made our way closer to the coast. I have this picture in my mind of me looking up at the people trying to keep their balance by holding onto these dangling handles, similar to the ones seen at a playground. They were trying so hard not to fall onto the passengers that were seated. My dad and I were sitting on the very back of this bus that was split in two and held together by this accordion looking connector. As the bus turned, we lost sight of everyone that was on the front side. This made the bus ride even more of an excitement, causing most of the passengers to laugh and become more comfortable with one another. The bus stopped. My dad and I stepped out while taking in a deep breath of fresh air. 6 hours was the time it took to get from Hemet to Newport Beach and I could say that I have never learned so much in one day. I am glad that I was able to spend it with my dad.