The wheels on the bus go round and round..

On July 15, 1976 ( exactly 32 years ago) a 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, Calif., by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed, Alhamdullilah [Thank God].)

36 hours! That is a long time. And an underground cell!? That must have been one memorable bus ride for those children.

I know that this is a very scary and terrifying situation,especially for the 26 school children and their parents who were probably worried sick. And I really hope that those three gunmen were captured and imprisoned, but I cant help but laugh at the fact that the three gunmen decided to hold children hostage. I mean, what did the they demand as their ransom? The children's lunch money? Couldn't they find someone their own size to pick on.

Like I said, that must have been one memorable bus ride for those kids.

This also reminded me of my childhood. When I was in elementary school, my siblings and I took the bus to school everyday. We had some crazy memories on those bus rides. Like the one bus driver that was obsessed with one of my sisters and always called her "Twinkie". Or the other male bus driver that called my brother "Cherry" all the time(dont ask). Or the time when I was crying so much because I was scared the bus would leave us if we didnt get to the bus stop on time, while my siblings sat in front of the TV and watched the Flintstones and laughed at me. (Hey, I was obsessed with school back then and having perfect attendance). Or all the countless times we stood at the bus stop and my brother would tell my older sister that he had to use the bathroom and never come back (He was the complete opposite of me, and hated school, and tried anything and everything to get out of actually going to school.The bus left him every single time and boy did my dad get mad at my brother for skipping school). Or the time my sister brought an air freshener and sprayed the entire bus because it always smelled awful .Or, again the countless times the bus didn't show up on those cold, snowy, winter days and we sat around the radiators in our house and drank microwaved chocolate milk pretending we were sitting in front of a log fire drinking hot cocoa. Or the time the bus driver stopped the bus in the middle of the highway because the kids on the bus were being too loud and rowdy and wouldn't listen to him. And the time when my sister had pneumonia on the bus. We were near home and the bus came to a stop at our regular bus stop. My brother was so scared because my sister couldn't breathe that he ran across the street, almost getting both of them killed by an oncoming car, and the bus driver coming out of the bus, waving a broomstick and yelling at my brother. And the other time we were at this other bus stop and we saw a lady having a seizure in the middle of the street. Or the time we sat on the bus and witnessed another car running over a lady. We sat on the bus for an hour and a half while the bus driver gave her statement to the police.

Like I said, crazy memories, not as crazy as the hostage situation though, Thank Allah (God).


I haven't been on a bus ever since I graduated fifth grade.

Sometimes I miss those bus rides and being a kid and all those memories with my siblings.