TheBUS

TheBUS. The city bus in Honolulu. From 6-11, I lived across the street
from my Elementary School, Aliamanu Elementary. At 12, we moved downtown,
miles away. I was a crossing guard for JPO (Junior Police Officers) in my
school. We never told the school district we had moved. I had to be ready
as a guard at 6:30am, in an orange tunic and an aluminum pole with a red "STOP"
at the end. I took the public bus 5 miles every morning to school during 6th
grade.
Bleary-eyed, out the door, an hour early. Pre-dawn. Dawn. My backpack and
the quarter for school lunch. The paper bus pass. Walking from the apartment,
down the slope of Punchbowl. Even Honolulu is chilly early. Rubber
slippers, backpack. Waiting there at the bus stop before the eternal flame
(for the dead men of the war).

Hawaii is blessed with the most wonderful bus system. The fares are cheap and
the people are all friendly and bright and the bus driver always takes care
of the kids. There are always very young kids taking the bus to better schools
away from their area, supplying addresses from their auntie or cousin as
their own -- anybody who lives in that school district.

I was lucky that my bus drove straight to Salt Lake, where the school is. And
then Walked down the small slope and to the little orange room where we
picked up the reflective tape and vests, silver whistles and batons for
stopping traffic for the kids coming to school hours after we did.

No, I never took a yellow bus, except when going on field trips to the
Aquarium, to a theme park, to the youth symphony. Funny, I took TheBUS
everywhere, even earlier than 11, but commuting on the bus at 12 seemed very
menacing and awfully mature. I loved it and it excited me to no end.