We were too young to drive, our parents all worked, and our older siblings were too cool to sport around a little kid in the car so the school bus was the only way to get to school - back in the day.
Whether the bus stop was north or south of my house it reached a wide radius, kids from probably 3 square blocks would line up on the corner. Funny how by Jr. high I wasn't actively hanging with most of them but I had a history with every one of them. Those immediately on my block had all survived non stop games of freeze tag, street hockey, doorbell ditch, kick the can and blind man's bluff. As summers came and went we upgraded to truth or dare, first kisses in the hedge of trees, streaking across the yards at midnight, seances and raising Mary Worth (who was she anyway) and bike rides to the outer most parts as long we were home by dinner.
Was it just me or can you remember the exciting adrenaline rush of being invited to play on a new block with a new group of kids? I can still picture running as a pack of wolves (us kids) through a backyard, past a lonely swing set, across another street, through an unfamiliar backyard leaping in pursuit while avoiding piles of dog poop only to find yourself smack dab into unknown territory. It was the equivalent of going to bed in North Dakota and waking up in Hawaii.
The whole night was filled with possibilities as we drew up teams and set the boundaries of how far you could run and hide and still be considered "in bounds." There was always a boy who pushed the limits and would be just one house over and would strut out smugly at the end of the game saying HE WON since no one found him.
Looking back, we had some really great times growing up together. We knew which moms had the best treats, we knew which moms allowed sleepovers and which ones didn't (mine - sigh). We knew how to play our mothers to get rides to the pool or pick around in their purses for loose change for when we biked to Kenny's and Roith's - the 2 stores to get candy and hang out at.
Dads were a big factor too. My dad had a certain few notes he would whistle when it was time to go in. I could be hiding in a bush, biking down the street, or planning a haunted house in someones garage.....but when I heard that whistle I knew it was time to call it a night and go home. There was a dad a block over that was handsome like Captain Von Trap and another that farted loudly and blamed us while laughing behind our backs. On any given night in the summer you'd see the parents chatting out front, walking over with coffee in their hands, checking out some new power tool or lawn gadget. It was a safe place and idyllic, really.
By high school most of us were driving or carpooling with friends with only the random bus ride as a last resort. It wasn't cool to ride the bus anymore. But even then if I got on and found myself in the back of the bus chances were good I would know someone from my bus stop. Oh that someone might look cool in his Members Only jacket wearing Levis jeans and sporting Adidas tennies but I knew the back story. I knew that under that Tom Selleck cool exterior was a sweet young boy who played Barbies with me when no one was looking, who made me snort milk out my nose from laughing, and most importantly gave me the hope of having a best friend just like him that I could call my own.
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