CONFESSIONS OF A BUS DRIVER (PART TWO)

Thought it was time to update blog. Thanks for the hints guys. Subtle.
A little rusty. Where to start.
I guess a title is a good a place as any. I settled on "I'm still here...just".
Others in contention were, The penny's dropping, Out and about, and So long and thanks for lack of fish!


So much has happened in these last 2 months, it has whooshed past and left me with a feeling that I have fallen behind. So easy just to drift with the flow.
There has been a family wedding, the birth of our first grandchild, news on another, the last fledgling has left the nest, ups and downs behind the wheel of my bus, holidays to plan, elderly relatives to discuss, my good lady to pack off to Italy and futures to think about.
It all looks very grown up stuff to me, a realisation that time still ticks on, regardless.


Confessions of a Bus Driver (part two)
I have been chosen to drive athletes and press members at the London Games this summer. No medals, no glory but boy, what an opportunity. Excited? - yes, Worried? - a little, Happy? well yeah..except that its smack bang in the middle of the new fishing season. A time when I should be up to my elbows in slime, mud, nettle stings, mosquito bites and tender sunburn. And loving every minute!
 Instead I will be hot, bothered, stressed up to the eyeballs, stuck in London traffic, miles from home for three and a half weeks, missing my wife, my family (oh god my grandson!)
I guess their all be there when I get back.

I was coming to the end of a shift on the home straight, Eyes strained from the sun, tired from the long hours.
So close to the end, thoughts of relaxation, rest, shade and long cool drinks....
BANG! The breaking of glass, the crunch of bone, the smear of blood, the screams, the cries from children, the sirens, the questions, the accusations, the looks. The buzzing in my head , the fear, the dread and the horror!
It could have ended like that but for the grace of God.
A young mum crossing the road to pick her child from school, talking on her mobile walks across the road without looking...steps out right in front of me!
I don't know how I stopped. It must have been instinct, built in training, professionalism even but for the grace of God gets my vote.
Something about the speed of her gait, an acknowledgement of expecting the worse, but it happened so quickly. The woman lifted one leg up as to brace for impact it was that close.
My bus stopped three inches from her shoulder. She was smack in the middle of my screen.
The gasps from my passengers signifying that they too feared the worse.
The woman, carried on chatting on the phone and continued walking across the road as if nothing was wrong!
All passengers alighting on that final stretch made comments, all praiseworthy, most derogatory of the woman and some concerned of my welfare.
 If the worse had happened, every one of them would testify for me that I wasn't to blame.
 But what of my nightmares, the motherless child, the angry grieving family, the newspapers, the unjustified guilt, the difficult task of getting behind the wheel of the bus again or not!
All part and parcel of the job. I do my best and pray.

Message ends.