Hi Foks, it’s been way too long and I don’t want to lose you, especially after hearing that the average attention span is down to eight seconds. Eight seconds! What was I talking about? Oh yeah, back to School Bus News.

Since it’s been so long, why not pick up where we left off with the name game?

The two little girls who called me Mr. Jimmy Joe Man Sir moved to a different school during the school year. They were a handful of trouble but I sure did miss them when they left. I hope Ariana catches the ear of a good music teacher. That 6 year old girl has rhythm and can carry a tune without a bucket. She would often play percussion on my guitar as I was playing it. When I changed rhythm she would quickly fall into time. I tried to trip her up by changing tempo and time signature. She stopped and listened for a second and started hand drumming on my guitar to the new beat. One time I was playing a very rhythmic fingerstyle blues when Ariana boarded the bus. I said, “There’s my little Drummer Girl! Will you play drums with me?” She listened to the percussive sounds and said, “It doesn’t need drums.”, and she went to her seat. She was right. The piece I was playing had all the rhythm It needed. I don’t know if many professional drummers  would have made that call.

Another child on that route called me Barnacle Head one day. I’m not sure why, but I put a stop to that business. He got used to calling me Mr. Bus Driver Man Sir.

It was a fun year on the Lion bus. It’s more fun now that it’s summer and we’re playing music all the way up the west coast. Here are some highlights from the school year.

One morning on my elementary route I was chatting with the boys in the front seat about going to the moon on our way to school. I said, We don’t have enough gas to get to the moon today. Maybe if we find a portal…”

Alex: Portals spin you around really fast! Well, not too fast.

Me: The new portals are better. They’re not too fast. Are there any gas stations on the moon? We may have to fling ourselves into orbit to get home.

Kyle: What’s orbit?

Alex: It spins you around really fast! Well, not too fast.

Just then a boy named Nick said to me, “You are super crazy, dude!”

I said, ” You will all have assigned seats soon.”

Nick: I don’t think so!”

Me: Oh, yes you will!

Nick: I’m not going to have an assigned seat!”

Me: Yes, everybody will have an assigned seat.”

Nick’s friend Oliver: It’s a free country. Haven’t you read the constitution?

On the last day of school a little girl who liked to play tag climbed the steps of the bus, licked my arm and said, “Tag, you’re it!” Then she ran to the back of the bus. I said, “I don’t want to play tag with you today.”
One advantage to driving so early in the morning is being able to watch the sunrise above the horizon while in the same glance seeing the full harvest moon set in the rearview mirror.

That’s it for now, probably until the new school year starts in late August. 

Tag, you’re it!

Mr. Jimmy Joe Man Sir