So, we are on a bus in the big city.....
Copyright © 2013, Robyn Gerland
Of course, buses existed on Vancouver
Island and, of course Kit had seen them time and again. But he had never ridden in one. Due to the expansive distances between
destinations, the long waits and circuitous routes of the buses between
Chemainus and other island towns and villages, almost everyone drove a
car. Small vehicles and hybrids were
very popular.
So, here we were
in the big city and I was about to expand my son’s education – one more
experience upon which to build his growing awareness of the world.
I was holding
Kit’s hand. “Oh dear,” I said, “I don’t see any seats.”
The bus was full
and the lady with the many parcels seemed to have taken the last available
place to sit.
“There’s one,”
Kit tugged my arm. “On the long seat.”
There was another
reason that I sometimes avoided buses. This was because the stopping and
starting and generally lurching quality of the ride often made me feel
nauseous. This feeling was compounded if
I had to ride on the side facing seats - watching the scenery slide by, tugging
at my eyes and stomach to follow its
swish. Closing my eyes was even worse as
then the unexpected stops and starts and curbward swoops played extra havoc
with my queasiness. Consequently, if I
was forced to ride in one of the unfortunate side facing benches, I tried to
keep my eyes open and look toward the front of the bus. It was absolutely the safest position. I sat
and pulled Kit onto my knee.
“Good,” I
thought. His head is blocking my
vision. I’ll just focus on his
neck.” I really hoped that the education
of Christopher Moody would be worth my discomfort and personal anxiety.
On my lap, Kit
wriggled to get comfortable and then sat rigidly still. “Does that man have a
headache?”
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