Kids In Busses, Longing To Be Free

During the 2 days I pedaled through Maine, I made note of the routine of the day that exists in modern life. Before sunrise, delivery trucks drive around. Before 9am, lots of sedans with one person in them drive towards the nearest city. A lull exists mid-day except for lunchtime, when people head outdoors once again to buy lunch. Around 2pm, school busses start to roll around, then again at 4pm, lots of sedans drive on the roads again, this time towards their homes, and usually more viciously than in the morning. (I had noticed this in my own commute in Boston. I'd usually take 5 minutes less to bike home than to work, out of a 20 minute ride.)

The 2pm school busses are the most interesting to me. Inside every schoolbus I have bicycled past I have seen kids with their faces pressed against the windows, wondering what I am. Kids have an enthusiasm to oberserve the world that adults have lost.

Kids also are trapped inside busses and buildings for 8+ hours a day, during the ages when they should be most inclined to explore the world, so it's not surprising that they are the most interested in observing a guy on a touring bicycle as he rides through their town.

We were all just kids in busses longing to be free. We are still kids in busses longing to be free.