Krishna Bus Tour

Part 6- Eighteen Forever

The ignition key brought the orange school bus to life.

A boy held a clipboard and shouted, "Roll Call!" while the diesel engine shook the key chain on the metal dashboard.

"One!" came a shout from the back of the bus.

Another called, "Two!"

Each of us had been assigned a number.

"Three!"

Kaliyapani entered the time and odometer reading in his logbook then stepped outside to check the lights and tires.

"Twelve! Where's twelve?" Someone was always missing at roll call.

"Twelve! Where's twelve?"

Twelve was located. He apologized and the roll call continued.

My number was eighteen. "I get to be eighteen again." No one heard me. "I've got forty years' experience being eighteen."

Kaliyapani returned wiping perspiration from his British brow. We studied the roadmap together—Toronto was our target, with stops in Saint Louis and West Virginia.

Manu's voice came from the walkie talkie on the dashboard, "The girl's bus is ready. Do you have everyone?"

Kaliyapani picked up the walkie-talkie and answered with British efficiency, "Yes Manu, we've got everyone."

He pulled the lever to shut the door, released the air brake with a loud hiss, and we were on our way, exhausted but too hot to sleep.

"Every mile brings us closer to Canada," I said.

Kaliyapani wiped his forehead and smiled.

***

We drove all day and were still in Texas.

Manu's voice came through the walkie-talkie, "We'll stop at WalMart for dinner."

The Brits were curious. "We'd heard about Walmart." They got their cameras ready and posed in front of the sign.

A blue plastic tarp was spread at the edge of the parking lot. Manu's wife, Jaya Sri Radhe, supervised, "Get your bowls and plates, line up here ..."

Dinner had been cooked in the back of the girls' bus at sixty-three miles per hour.

We ate burritos as Manu pointed to stars and planets, "That's Venus and that's Saturn.

A girl asked, "How far away is Venus?"

"Well duhhh ..."a boy said, "you can see it's right on the other side of the parking lot."

Nitya Lila appeared pushing a shopping cart full of ice cream boxes. "Who's ready for ice cream?" she said.

I cleaned my bowl and got into the ice cream line.

Nitya Lila is always serving. I've never seen her sit and eat with the group. "I'll eat later, let me serve."

A sheriff's patrol car pulled up, "Everything alright here?"

There was an affirmative chorus and the kids offered ice cream to the sheriff.

"Well, thank you," the sheriff smiled and tipped his cowboy hat, "...but not today. Where y'all from?"

We took turns answering.

"England."

"India."

"Ireland."

"New York."

"North Carolina."

"Toronto."

"Welcome to Texas." The sheriff tapped the side of his car and smiled, "You see, we don't all ride horses. I hope you enjoy your time here. It looks like y'all gonna have a real nice summer."

They thanked him and he moved on.

"He had quite the accent didn't he?" a British girl said.

"Yes, I could barely understand him," said another.

***

After dinner, Manu huddled the group, "This is the first actual day of the bus tour. A lot of you don't know each other. Let's circle up, then each of you announce your name, where you're from, and in one word or less what you'd like to get from the bus tour."

Twenty-five conversations began at once.

"One word or less?"

"Hey, I'm gonna try that."

"What do I want to get out of the bus tour?"

"In one word?"

"Or less?"

"Hey, listen up people." Manu cupped his hands around his mouth, "It's not that hard. Make a circle, you know it's shaped like this?" He demonstrated with his fingers. "Remember that from school? OK ... OK ... now you're getting it ... alright, who wants to be the first?"

As the sheriff had predicted, they were having a real nice summer. The cast of fifty characters introduced themselves to each other.

Then Manu said, "Let's make a double circle, one inside and one out, so each of you is facing a partner. First the inner person will say their name and three things they are into. I'll tell you when to switch, then the outside person will do the same. Then the outer circle will move clockwise to the next person. Everyone ready, facing a partner? OK, go."

Twenty-five conversations started again. A young lady introduced herself to me, "I'm into yoga, gymnastics, and music."

"Oh really? I hope we get time to do yoga with the whole group. We did that on the Mexico tour, on the beach."

"That sounds so fun. I hope we get to do that."

Manu announced, "OK, now switch to the outer circle!"

"OK, my turn now," I said, "I'm into people, conversations, and circles. Hey! That's what we're doing now!"

"And you like driving the bus too, don't you?" she said.

"Oh, it's OK. I prefer standing in circles."

"... and people and conversations."

"Hey, you're paying attention. We're getting to know each other."

Manu cupped his hands around his mouth, "OK outer circle, move to the next person!"

The circle shifted. I stood before someone I'd been on five bus tours with already, he ad-libbed, "Hey! I already know you. You're from Idaho—you like herpetology and serendipity. Now you can say what you want about me. Tell me what I'm into. Say anything you want ..."

The session ended with everyone laughing, gasping for air under the Walmart lights with bugs flying around us.

***

The bus engines started again, our signal to board.

"Roll Call!"

The command echoed back down the bus. "Roll Call!"

"Roll Call!"

"Roll call!"

Finally someone said, "Oh, sorry ... One!"

Another boy called "Two" faintly from way in the back, "Three," and so on till all twenty of us were accounted for, I was still eighteen. It felt good to be eighteen. I'd been eighteen all day and would remain so for the rest of the summer.

I radioed the girls' bus, "Everyone's here."

"OK, same here."

Kaliyapani released the airbrake, psshhhhhhp, and we were underway. KP said he could drive till midnight.

Hearos earplugs—all bus drivers knew how to work them: roll and pinch them as small as they'll go, then insert in your ears. Road sounds fade away as the material swells back to its original shape.

A cool breeze blew in and the bus rocked gently as the burrito and ice cream sedative kicked in.

***