I had booked a bus ride four days before my annual eye appointment, having been warned not to drive after my eyes were dilated. The bus rule is to be ready 1.5 hours before the appointment. There I sat beside the living room window at 11:30, waiting for the ride to my 1:00 appointment. My coat and pocketbook were on the sofa with me. At 12:30 I called the dispatcher, knowing it would take at least 20 minutes to get to the office on the other side of Waynesville. He reassured me that the bus was on its way. He gave me the location, which was only halfway here from the town.
I was outside waiting as the bus hesitated at my drive. S-l-o-w-l-y it backed up, and the door opened. I scrambled on, greeted the driver, paid my fare, and was buckled in a jiffy. He crossed something off on a piece of paper, shuffled the papers, shuffled them again, clipped them on a board, checked a tablet, and finally put the vehicle in gear. He inched out of the drive and ambled along the road. At the highway, he let every car in sight go by before pulling out. I resisted the urge to look at the time on my phone, knowing nothing was going to hurry that man.
He pulled in past the office and insisted on backing up to get me close to the door. Such consideration I could have done without! Peeking at my phone at the door of the office, I saw it was 1:00, time for my appointment. Whew! At least I wasn’t late!
From then on, the news was good. The good eye had stayed the same, and the degenerated one was five feet better than last year. Left – 20/20 and right – 20/25. Dr. G. said I needn’t bother wearing glasses for distance. She agreed with me that turning last year’s glasses into readers would be a good idea. I’m to go to the other office where they have the equipment to change the lenses fairly quickly, using my present frames.
I had to wait quite a while to be picked up, but officially I was on the way home. A young woman was driving, and a man was already on the bus. As we drove toward his home in Maggie Valley, word came that there had been a serious accident on the highway to my house. The emergency was over by the time we got there, but it was a sobering sight. A couple of official trucks were on the other side of the highway with flashing lights, guiding cars past a small car. It was upside down with the roof caved in. I doubt the driver survived.
I was thankful to get home where everything was peaceful and quiet. I’d gotten a hamburger out of the freezer before I left. It was the last one I grilled outside before Thanksgiving. It tasted so good, paired with green beans, sauced and topped with French fried onions. Yes, real comfort food when I needed it!
Mehrling Muse 
Exciting, sometimes exasperating day, but luckily all turned out well in the end. Sorry for the occupants of the poor car in the accident.
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You need patience when you can’t control the timing! I’m glad you got good news and a good burger!
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I was rewarded with my own comfort food.
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Is your bus service an on demand service we have that here along with regular bus service
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Yes, anyone can get a ride for a low price. The bus operates in my county and also goes to cities in two other counties. Going out of the county costs twice as much. You call two days ahead for local and three days ahead out of county.
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French fried onions on your burger sounds delicious. So glad your appt went well despite the upsets in the travel both ways.
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Bus travel is not usually that exciting. It’s marvelous that any resident can get a ride by calling a few days ahead and paying a reasonable fare. I still drive, but not when eyes are involved.
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How frustrating! Glad you made it on time, and the news was so good. A burger sounds like a lovely meal after such a day.
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Anything would have tasted good to me after spending half the day getting to and from the eye appointment!
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Glad for the good news!!
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I saw a wreck happen where the jeep flipped upside down. A set of shelves fell out of a truck in front of her and she couldn’t avoid hitting them. I pulled over thinking I could help, but others were already there to help. She had worn a seats she struggled out of the jeep, screaming about her baby as she somehow got the back door open. The baby was in a car seat and she got the car seat out. She was an about to take the baby out when a man stopped her. They both appeared to be okay. So if the driver was wearing a seatbelt, they may have made it.
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That is comforting, Julia. I hope seat belts were worn that day.
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I took the senior bus last year, one time, as it had been icy out, but was warmish that day. I’d never taken the senior bus before, so I told them, I’m a block away so I just walked over, bought 20 token for 10 trips (better to have them on hand, right). So my appointment for shots was at 11:00 a.m. – we picked up a dozen people, dropped off everyone but me – that was around 11:30. They close for lunch and lock the doors … thankfully he got me there before it closed, then the “shot girl” said “sorry I forgot to order your serum – you’ll have to come back in a few days.” I told her to use up what was in the vial and be done with it. I ended up walking home. Got off the bus and it was warm enough I could walk – two miles.
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Wow! What a tale!
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