The Bus Stop

I've taken the bus my whole life so all the experiences listed below are true to my memory.

The Bus Stop

 

The bus stop: this place can be a wondrous treasure of experiences, however, it can turn to terror for an inexperienced novice. The act of standing, feeling without purpose can be tedious, especially if one is too early. The cars zooming by kicking wind towards oneself on a particularly cold morning can add to an already uncomfortable situation. (Though anyone can benefit the breeze in mid-August.) One stands close to the curb of the sidewalk feeling the rush of the drivers’ speed, soon feeling alone again once they have passed. Not only is this place a simple place, tiny to the universe, it is the place to go for an enticing ride.

          Many kinds of buses help the elderly, the poor, the young without a license, and the willing writer get from one place to another. The ill experienced and adapted undergo intriguing events, whether gripping, simply amusing, or down right terrible. Let us being at the start.

          Elementary School: the place to achieve basic skills in which to enlighten the everyday human brain. This is the level that requires adult supervision of the children, though sometimes, they are seen waiting alone. In these cases, it is recommended that the parent makes sure there are more children at the bus stop to wait alongside each other. Once boarded, the child may catch up with friends or feel utterly alone. The student is brought to the lower education school to learn the simple knowledge needed to grow into a round adult.

          Middle School: the stage of awkwardness and inability to find oneself. Often made fun of, the student can now wait by their lonesome, still there is an exception: the over vigilant parent, which can frequently only cause more grief and humiliation to the child. This occurs once on the bus when the ridiculing is at its strongest.

          High School: this can be the location of discovery and awareness, which can lead to experimentation. The yellow bus remains available for a hefty price. On average, merely two to two and a half years students are transported publicly or privately, given sixteen is the legal age to drive. Like before, there are exceptions. The students not willing to drive, unable to drive, or too busy reading and writing to take the damn test, are often the ones waiting in the early a.m. Depending on the year of education, teasing is varied. In earlier years, students may be expected to have senior friends that drive or be dropped off by their parents. In the later years, friends may flout, strangers may sneer, and teachers may taunt the seventeen-eighteen year old senior who needs to take public transportation.

          Once graduated, the student attends the free-spirited campus of college. One might be faced with the wait again by not receiving a license by this time. The public city bus is a daunting yet fascinating place. The handicapped being lifted onto the bus by the wheelchair dumbwaiter to ride, and lowered again to get off. The mentally unstable bicker with each other about various food items. An elderly woman compliments a shy writer describing her as the most attractive girl she has seen.

          So to take the bus whether short, public, school, or private, it is recommended to have confidence, accept that it is the only way at the time, and stop reading long enough to take the driving test.

Reviews

[bob, small b. aka invs]

maybe it's me, but i don't really understand where you were going with this. it seems to lack perspective. if it's a profile of the bus stop and its place in the world i think it could have been done much better. instead of jumping from school to school in your narrative, maybe you could introduce kids waiting for the buses going to each of these places and use them to relate the feelings they have for them. it would keep the focus on the bus stop and you'd still be able to describe the places they are going. sorry for the less-than-glowing review, but you did ask for criticism. i do like the idea of describing a bus stop as a slice of life, i just think you could do much better at it.

[Freder Fredersen (aka G..]

:)

Very internal in stylr and voice. I thought it was cool. It was a bit like taking a ride through the subject matter in someone elses brain. The scattered thoughts intensify that experience.

Well done.

Cheers!
GM

[William Usry]

I thought this was very insightful. I love the way you analyze the role of something as overlooked and ordinary as a bus in our everyday lives.

As far as the structure goes I found it a little hard to follow. Your words are very eloquent and exhibit great detail but you may want to work on making the piece a little less dense and easier to digest.

That said your writing shows a great deal of talent and intelligence paired with one hell of a vocabulary.

[Nancy Lee Shrader]

For some people the bus stop is a necessary way of life. My son used to live in Pittsburgh. It was cheaper to ride the bus than to drive. He has many tales of these experiences. Where we live, we do not have bus services with the exception of school buses. So at the age of 25 he discovered a wonderful new experience.

Great read. Well written.

[Tony Rivera]

This was to me, well written and very interesting, especially since it shows the what "could" and not "is", making it very entertaining to the imaginitive mind.
I will be sure to read your other story when i have the time ^^,
kudos :3
Tony Rivera

[Song of Mercy]

Ok, my review has a bit different perspective. Though I agree the focus on the bus stop itself was muddled a bit with the description of the people riding the bus stop I still found it a great read. It is interesting to me that I am beginning public trasportation next week and this was just a gentle shove to get my rear to the darn bus stop.

[Silvario]

a very well written and prefessionaly done piece.
i personaly enjoyed the deatails used in describing the environment and the realism i felt throughout the write.

very well done indeed. :)

I like the concept. It is a good essay on buses, and you have brought in some interesting observation.

You can actually elaborate in this subject. Buses have been used frequently for a lot of different symbolisms.

You have used it here for age when it came to school

You can use it for difference in social status (a bus passenger looking out to a Mercedes Benz)

A social ground, where every passenger has a story (although heavily used)

Bus stop at the point of story as told by the bus driver

Bus stop at the point of the story as told by the beggar

A similar yet very colorful experience I have is riding the trains in India. It is all open and suddenly you have this huge wallish behemoth zoom past you at the speed of 140 km/h, you feel the ground shake, and you feel the wind and pressure. If you stand too close to the train, you can get swooped in. During the wait, you will find a myriad of characters, from Gypsies, gurus, beggars, call center agents, tourists, workers, police, children, aged, doctors, and lawyers. The station is not segregated by class, and everyone buys tea from the same tea stall.

A very inspiring concept

I loved this piece

[Shellie]

This is very good. Very interesting perspective, i think its amazing the subjects people can come up with, i love reviewing on sites like this as my normal site is just poetry and new stuff here takes the monotony out of it. This was really really well written, you seperated everything into different categories like stages in life and expanded. well done.

[Dayzee]

This is lovely, and well written!
It made me laugh at myself a bit,
I am 17 and one of those that were too busy to "take the damn test."
(I promise though, I'll get right on it!)