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𝐂𝐁 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧's avatar

Waiting for the bus was the worst. I talked my mom into driving me and three of my friends to junior high. We had our own little β€œbus” route. She also carted us to and from many after school functions, back when you could β€œlegally” ride in the back end of a hatchback. We and my 10 closest friends piled in together!

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Andrew Smith's avatar

That's really cool. I guess I had about seven years of bus-riding, all told, since elementary school was considerably more catered. By the time I was driving toward the end of high school, things were beginning to change again, and I no longer had to be beholden to the bus every time (although I had to be very nice to my parents and borrow their car!).

Your piling in memory sounds really fun.

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Andrew Sniderman πŸ•·οΈ's avatar

Same on the mom and elementary school and the school bus for middle school. Except my mom took me at her school for 1st grade only (my local elementary school was 2blks away). She wanted to get me tested and into the 'gifted' program. Was that a thing for you? Also, my bus stop was in Hollywood across the street from the 7-Eleven, home of Hookers and Flapjacks.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Yeah, we had some program called ALERT - Active Learning Experiences in Resourceful Thinking. We got to travel a bit - NYC in 6th grade, maybe DC in 7th grade, etc. We did plays and things like that, and we studied marine biology for like six months when I was in fifth grade, when I promptly fell in love with collecting shells. There was a thematic focus that lasted an entire day, and I'm glad I was exposed to that method of studying. I've immersed myself in things, and I can't help but imagine that early experience helped shape that.

Wish my bus stop had had hookers!

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Andrew Sniderman πŸ•·οΈ's avatar

yeah, it was alright at 12.

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LL's avatar

oh, that *was* a rough introduction! but here you are. (a good reminder today)

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Andrew Smith's avatar

If there is one thing I've always been pretty good at, it's getting back up onto my feet.

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Daniel Nest's avatar

Oof, man. Now I'm really impressed you've made it past your teen years.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

...or did I? If you go far enough down any one of our conversational threads, you really might wonder if we're not both still teenagers.

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Daniel Nest's avatar

How dare you?! How dare you age me like that?!

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Andrew Smith's avatar

I know you are, but what am I?

(just watched a little bit of Pee Wee Herman last night)

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