Flippant Flamingo #2
His life began in the sixties, but unlike others of his generation, he had a determination to work hard. Always the first one awake, the last one done for the day, he made it his duty to make sure everyone made it to school and home again safely, no matter how cold it got, how deep the snow, or rowdy the kids.
Finally, in his teens, he took on a summer job, shuttling campers, CITs, and a few adults to 4-H camp in the mountains. He saw plenty of the flirting, playing, and teasing that normally happen when summer enthusiasm meets an attractive peer. It was, however, a 16-year old CIT and a 21-year-old archery instructor that caught his eye. It took a few well-placed jostles, but two years later he watched with a grin as the bride and groom were chauffeured up to “their” 4H camp. Then, one year, he was suddenly pulled out of service. “Too old” he was told. “Too many years of hard work.”
Despite this forced early retirement, he did his best to be as active as possible, to keep everything in good working order. Then, one day, the news reached him that that young bride and groom now had kids of their own, and were looking once again for someone like him to take them camping every summer.
He jumped at the chance. And when the bride and groom realized that he was the very same school bus they had met on, it wasn’t even a question. They bought him on the spot. First to go were all the old school-bus benches and uncomfortable driver’s seat. Then came wall-to-wall carpeting, a working bathroom and kitchen, beds, even a genuine La-Z-Boy chair for the driver to relax in. A new coat of brown and tan paint, and what had once been a nameless school bus was now The Brown Rose, a custom motor home that had gotten a second lease on life.
Summer after summer, it became a tradition that the family cleaned out the bus, restocked it’s small pantry with the makings of s’mores and Dutch-oven meals, then took off for parts unknown. Trips to Yellowstone, to campgrounds, family reunions, even a few long drives to Oregon. The Brown Rose was a fixture at practically every campground he visited. The deck on his roof served for hundreds of nights of stargazing (and a few GOOD water fights), the awning rolled out over the sleepy family while they took naps in the provided shade, or hid from the relentless rain. The kitchen helped create hot-cocoa (maybe with a bit of peppermint schnapps) for those cold winter nights, and even Brownie, the family dog, had a comfortable spot to sleep.
Then, slowly, as the kids left, the Brown Rose slowed down. For a year, and then two, the family simply didn’t have the time to clean him or take him camping. Instead of weeks in the mountains, it was weekend trips to cities.
Then, just a few months ago, The Brown Rose was offered a third life. The couple’s nephew, always a free spirit at heart that understood the desire to get out there and keep going, offered to take the Brown Rose as a river shuttle—to haul white-water rafts and their enthusiastic guides up and down any decent river they could find. The couple happily agreed, and the Brown Rose is once again shuttling generation after generation on their summer adventures.
Not too bad for a big yellow school bus.
Finally, in his teens, he took on a summer job, shuttling campers, CITs, and a few adults to 4-H camp in the mountains. He saw plenty of the flirting, playing, and teasing that normally happen when summer enthusiasm meets an attractive peer. It was, however, a 16-year old CIT and a 21-year-old archery instructor that caught his eye. It took a few well-placed jostles, but two years later he watched with a grin as the bride and groom were chauffeured up to “their” 4H camp. Then, one year, he was suddenly pulled out of service. “Too old” he was told. “Too many years of hard work.”
Despite this forced early retirement, he did his best to be as active as possible, to keep everything in good working order. Then, one day, the news reached him that that young bride and groom now had kids of their own, and were looking once again for someone like him to take them camping every summer.
He jumped at the chance. And when the bride and groom realized that he was the very same school bus they had met on, it wasn’t even a question. They bought him on the spot. First to go were all the old school-bus benches and uncomfortable driver’s seat. Then came wall-to-wall carpeting, a working bathroom and kitchen, beds, even a genuine La-Z-Boy chair for the driver to relax in. A new coat of brown and tan paint, and what had once been a nameless school bus was now The Brown Rose, a custom motor home that had gotten a second lease on life.
Summer after summer, it became a tradition that the family cleaned out the bus, restocked it’s small pantry with the makings of s’mores and Dutch-oven meals, then took off for parts unknown. Trips to Yellowstone, to campgrounds, family reunions, even a few long drives to Oregon. The Brown Rose was a fixture at practically every campground he visited. The deck on his roof served for hundreds of nights of stargazing (and a few GOOD water fights), the awning rolled out over the sleepy family while they took naps in the provided shade, or hid from the relentless rain. The kitchen helped create hot-cocoa (maybe with a bit of peppermint schnapps) for those cold winter nights, and even Brownie, the family dog, had a comfortable spot to sleep.
Then, slowly, as the kids left, the Brown Rose slowed down. For a year, and then two, the family simply didn’t have the time to clean him or take him camping. Instead of weeks in the mountains, it was weekend trips to cities.
Then, just a few months ago, The Brown Rose was offered a third life. The couple’s nephew, always a free spirit at heart that understood the desire to get out there and keep going, offered to take the Brown Rose as a river shuttle—to haul white-water rafts and their enthusiastic guides up and down any decent river they could find. The couple happily agreed, and the Brown Rose is once again shuttling generation after generation on their summer adventures.
Not too bad for a big yellow school bus.
posted by Anonymous at 12:33 PM
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