A Harrowing Bus Ride

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I’ve been riding on county buses for a year now, and today was the first time I didn’t think I was going to make it to my appointment. Riders are warned to be ready one and a half hours before appointment time, giving the scheduler time to fit everyone in. I was ready at 9:25, and the bus pulled in my drive at 9:30. The driver said she had a full schedule, figuring people wanted to get out and get things done before the holiday weekend. Buses will not run on Labor Day.

For the first time, the bus turned toward I-40 instead of Waynesville. The roads got progressively smaller. We headed down a twisty lane that I would have hesitated to drive a full sized car on. We were in a BUS. GPS said we had arrived at our destination, but which small trailer was it? No numbers showed. The driver honked. No one came out. She was about to go knock on the door when a woman hurried toward us. When she made her reservation for the bus, no one told her to be ready so early. We really didn’t wait long and still had plenty of time to get back to town.

Retracing our route, we passed my area, but instead of going to Waynesville, we veered off to Maggie Valley. GPS was confused. We wandered down three roads, contacted headquarters, made another wrong turn and finally were passing trailers with not three feet between them. A man laboriously climbed into the bus, pausing at each step. He advised us not to get old. I wanted to know how old is old. He said 85. I said, “Good. I’ve got five years to go.”

In silence we headed for the fourth pickup. GPS dithered. The driver had a proper address, but only a few lot numbers showed and fewer house numbers were visible. Headquarters said the house had a car parked there with lots of stuff in it. We all laughed, saying that applied to almost every car in the area. We passengers were peering out the windows trying to help the driver. The road was one-way, and we were going the wrong way. A truck came toward us and veered off to another tiny road. He evidently knew a way out. The houses were tiny house size but lacking in modern attractiveness. Small trailers were packed in so tightly that we wondered how they ever got there. GPS ( I now say short for Go Punch Something) said we were at our destination. After a couple of calls to headquarters again, the driver sighed and got out to knock on the door of a decrepit trailer. She came back, saying the back door was wide open, but no one responded. Headquarters said no one answered the phone, so we were free to go. The driver kept her cool, but the pressure was on. She knew my appointment was at 11, and we had barely enough time to make it. By this time we felt like old friends and chatted all the way to Waynesville.

Noah, the acupuncturist, was standing in the waiting room when I rushed in. He said I wasn’t late, but I’ll bet I wasn’t more than 15 seconds early. I had planned to arrived relaxed and peaceful.

Here is a video from the porch cam showing the bus gingerly backing out of my driveway. The drivers do a marvelous job of navigating our circular mountain roads, and they do it cheerfully every time.

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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60 thoughts on “A Harrowing Bus Ride”

    1. No adventures on the way home. A different driver talked about getting attached to riders. He just took a vacation and came back to find one of his favorites that went regularly for dialysis had died. The drivers are caring people.

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    1. The treatment was good, although I have yet to see any real improvement with the sciatica that wakes me at night. He used needles, a TENS unit, and cupping which left me relaxed and a bit shaky. I walked outside until the bus came, and by then I felt strong. I’m going to quit going for now, but I’ll go back if anything else happens that I think acupuncture would help.

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      1. That’s good. You might be bruised from the cupping, but I’ve heard it really works. I’ve heard also that doing bridges and some other exercises help with sciatica, but so far, mine is not improving either.

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        1. The cupping was on my back, and no one will see bruises there, including me.
          I’m sorry your sciatica isn’t improving. Today is my third month anniversary for the beginning of mine. How long have you had it?

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  7. Guess I’m going to have to make sure I live near one of my kids that still has a driver’s license! Never did like busses….starting in 7th grade (first year I went to school far enough away from the school & required bus ride.) I do love your adventurous spirit!

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    1. I laughed at your plan to live near a relative driver.

      That child also needs to be free to take you places, not working full time. My neighbors have said they’d be willing to take me, but they either work or volunteer.

      I never rode a school bus, because parents in the town limits were responsible for getting their children to school. I’ll bet the teachers would say the greater job was picking them up.

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  8. I have so totally also had the experience that mutually supportive simpatico, preserved between rider and driver, gets the rider to their destination when required, even after it seemed all hope seemed lost. I think it’s a kind of magic.

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          1. Oh, it’s okay ~ I knew you meant it well. I was just marveling ~ as I could tell you would also ~ that perfectly intelligent professional people call “magical thinking” a negative diagnosis. I guess I have to stay hyperaware of these things since I’ve got all the strikes for potential elder imprisonment against me ~ indigent, homeless, aging, of creative mien and affect, independent and feisty female thinker ~ AND got both a daughter and a stalker perpetually trying to profile me for disaster. I have to know the territory and stay on my toes.

            No, I didn’t receive any offense from you, natta worry 😱

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  10. I am glad to you back home. How was your actual treatment? How you are relaxed and pain free when you left?. Nice you sharing your treatment experience. God blessing!

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    1. It was very odd to have that kind of experience. It wasn’t until I looked at the time after the last pickup that I became tense about being late. I spent an hour and a half riding in the bus for a trip that would take normally take about 20 minutes. It was fun to be with new people, though.

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  12. So pleased you have such wonderful, caring drivers. Glad you got there in the end. I had to have a driver for two years after a car crash (fractured my spine) they were amazing. Took me back and forth to the hospital so that I could be home for the young children at night. The first year, I travelled flat in an ambulance. Then I was able to sit up. Xx

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      1. A good friend, who was much older and had seen more of the world, told me it would take 6 years to get over. And she was right. I was so unprepared for that length of recovery time, only ever having been ill for two weeks at most for the flu! However, these things teach you patience and there’s a gratefulness when you eventually do recover and nothing is ever taken for granted again. Xx

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  14. That was cutting it way too close … good thing it was Summer and not a ride on a slick highway coated with snow or ice. That is a long driveway – kudos to the bus driver for navigating it.

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  15. Sounds like you had an adventure getting to your appointment, with an interesting variety of new people to meet and places to see. You have my sympathy with sciatica pain, which I’ve had for more than 20 years. It’s mostly manageable as long as I’m careful how I sit and stand, and sleep on the right side which keeps it from getting irritated at night. And yoga is very helpful!

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    1. Good advice. Thank you. Which side do you have the pain on? I read that it is best to sleep on the opposite side of the pain. That’s why I’ve been sleeping on my left side. 20 years!!! Thankfully I don’t have that many years left.

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      1. My sciatica pain is on the left side. Opposite to you! I recently discovered the Contour Legacy Leg & Knee Foam Support Pillow and have been sleeping with it between my knees for a couple of months now. It helps even more.

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  17. What exciting adventures you have going into town on your busv. We have nothing like that here. We do have a bus service at the end of our road, but the only comment ever is when I get on and say good morning driver and when I get off I say thank you driver. But of course it is a city bus and the driver is probably tired by the time I get on the bus because my daughter says it’s very busy at 7:30 am.
    Thanks for sharing Anne.

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    1. Our lack of density means we don’t have regular public transportation. The bus drivers are personable and kind, because they get to know us over time. I was surprised to find that anyone can ride, not just retirees. I’m glad you are friendly to the bus drivers, even though they don’t respond.

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