Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Dog

During 4 years of college in western New York, I think I flew back and forth just two times. Most of the rest of my time was spend on buses, mostly 'the dog' (Greyhound). Don't tell anyone, but I kind of enjoyed it. Every trip was an adventure. As I remember, it left the Rochester station about 2 PM and would pull into Boston about 4AM the next morning. I always thought I caught a good cross-section of the world that I could study on those log trips through the night. Through blizzards, surviving buses with faulty heaters, seat 'neighbors' who wanted to yak through the darkness and even some shenanigans that I'm not about to divulge here, I survived to write about it.
Crazy college coeds, sour milk cartons, bus breakdowns, minor accidents, unruly passengers, it was always nice to get home.
And everytime Bob Segers' "Night Moves" comes on the radio, I turn it loud and remember.

15 comments:

  1. What great memories of a special time...Something about your experience makes me think of Studs Terkel. I wonder if he rode buses & had great conversations...

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  2. I remember those trips. Turn it up!

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  3. You've had an adventurous youth!

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  4. glad you lived through it all - and now can enjoy the memories. :)

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  5. One of my dreams would be to cross USA on a GreyHound bus.Just like in a movie !

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  6. Sounds like you had a high tolerance for bus travel and a taste for adventure. Oh, to be young again.

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  7. Where did you go to school? I live in Brockport....25 minutes from Rochester.

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  8. You sure logged a lot of miles and hours on the 'dog.'

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  9. I didn't ride buses very often. Most often I hitchhiked.

    "Night moves!" Even today I pause to listen when that comes on the radio.

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  10. You know your life is some kinda interesting, don't you?

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  11. The bus station was in a shady locale, so I preferred to find a fellow student lucky enough to have a vehicle.

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