[bevo1981]

we've all ridden a bus at one time or another. most of us rode one as kids to school, ride one ocassionally around town, or ride one routinely to work. your story can be about any interesting and/or funny experience(s) regarding a school bus, city bus, or subway or taxi. but try to share all your bus stories first.

i took a Greyhound bus when i was 17 to for a 360 mile trip from Austin, TX to Texarkana, TX. first half of trip was fine (though really slow), but we had to switch buses at the station in Dallas, TX. i thought i was in downtown Beirut. i was a minority in the station (i'm caucasion) and it was filled about 200 people over capacity, sandwiching every tired and stinky traveler against one another. random people were constantly yelling obscenities. there was a girl my age crying in the corner. she looked homeless, possibly a runaway. just before i could pass out from nausea, we were ready to board the next bus. a middle-aged man broke in line in front of me and the ticket taker saw him and scolded him like a rented mule.

i get on and scan for the first empty seat, which was next to a large Mexican woman who immediately began screaming at me in Spanish when i sat next to her. i jump up, terrified, and a guy my age offered me a seat next to him a few rows back. i could smell him from where i was standing. and the bus was almost full. this guy took stink to a new level. i vomited a little in my mouth when i sat down next to him. he tells me he ran away from home because the law was after him. i didn't ask for details.

when this snail bus finally got to our next stop a couple hours later, stinky got off and i had the seat to myself. fresh air. kinda. half the bus emptied and i was finally relieved to have some room to myself and less people to smell. as soon as we started rolling, this rather large Mexican fellow moves from his seat to sit right next to me. actually it was on top of me. i look around at all the empty rows and get really confused and angry. i try to ask him what the deal is, but of course he doesn't speak English and just kinda ignores me. holy hell i wanted to slice my wrists open. 3 hours later i get to my final destination. that day i learned that a 5.5 hour drive by car is the same as a 10 hour trip from the bowels of hell by bus.