My Experience on the Bus...

 





August 3, 2014

In reading the first chapter of The Energy Bus, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my own experiences with public transportation, and the invaluable life lessons those experiences taught me! In the first chapter (“The Flat Tire”), we meet George, and we learn of the seemingly awful start to his big day at work. We learn about how he ended up taking the public transit bus to work for the first time ever in his middle-aged life. We also learn about how that experience turned into an opportunity for him to reflect on the many aspects of his life that are to be celebrated, appreciated, and not taken for granted. 

Reading about George reminded me of the times when I took public transit buses to and from high school, 30 miles each way, until my senior year. I had to transfer buses twice (each way) to get to school and then back home. I would arrive at the bus stop each morning by 6:15am, and I would not arrive home each evening until after 6:00pm. You can imagine how frustrated I was as a 15 year old freshman that my mom was making me take the bus all that way to school every day! How could I tell my friends at school that I take the bus?! How could I possibly wake up that early every day until I finally get a car?! 

Then one afternoon on the bus ride home, while complaining about my awful existence on the bus to a 30-something woman I often saw on the afternoon route, she revealed to me that she was HIV positive. She shared that she would trade for my existence any day of the week. She reminded me about every day being a gift, and every day presenting an opportunity to be positive, to be great, and to make a difference.  I still think about that woman from time to time, and how her life turned out, even 21 years later. This was 1993, and clearly medical science in treating HIV was not nearly what it is today. I also thank her for this early life lesson about appreciating each day. I’ve tried my best to embody those lessons ever since then. The first chapter of The Energy Bus reminded me of this lesson, and that experience especially, as a 9^th grader…

In closing, I wanted to share how excited I am to welcome this new school year with all of you! I know you share my enthusiasm, despite the delay in getting our building and classrooms situated due to renovations. I also wanted to share this article about starting the first day of school off on the right foot. It is such a privilege to serve all 812 of our students and our families. Have a marvelous first day back with them on August 11!

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/only-1-first-day-school-lisa-mims

-Norman

PS: we will distribute staff copies of The Energy Bus on August 5, 2014.