Bus Pick-Up Day, at Last!

 

I have a friend who tells me that if you put something out into the universe, something that you want, like an old blue school bus even, eventually the universe will respond.  I'm not sure how you put something into the universe, but if what she means is that chatting up everyone you know about your crazy idea puts it out there, then I definitely put my desire out there, and the universe answered.  At least, someone I told about my blue bus dreams finally said "hey, my friend has one that she's trying to get rid of."  Thank you, universe!

 

 

This is where the bus lived before it came to me.  The friend of a friend who wanted to get it out of her front yard was a very unique individual who during our negotiations about the bus we lovingly referred to as the "crazy lady".  Which might sound mean coming from someone else, but considering I, too, want a blue bus, I think it's a fair label.  The crazy lady and her husband used the bus for storage, and also tied two large rottweiler dogs to the bumper and let the dogs shelter under the bus.  Yes, it was that kind of place.  I felt right at home!

 

 

Before we offered to buy the bus we examined it, from a distance due to the monster dogs chained to it, and found that the seats were already out, which was a plus, and it still had wheels, another plus.  It even had all unbroken windows and was fully intact under the hood.  Of course, it's a 1964 model and they didn't know if it would run and didn't have a key for it anyway, but we weren't expecting to drive it away. 

 

After agonizing phone tag with the crazy lady, we finally worked out a selling price ($500) and a pick up date.  Considering the crazy lady's crazy schedule, crazy phone issues, and crazy dogs that only she could handle, this was an achievement.

 

 

Brandon's mom and dad came with us on the day we picked it up.   I was so glad to have the moral support, and also witnesses in case we got into to some craziness ourselves.  I've rarely been that excited.  I was more keyed up on bus pick up day than I have ever been about a purchase, including my house.  It was like being a kid again before a birthday present when you knew you were getting something awesome that you wanted for a long time but someone was making you wait for cake before you could open it.  Coveting is stressful!

When the tow truck arrived, the driver, who was approximately 12 years old, examined the situation and was concerned about pulling the bus through the large holes under under it that the dogs had excavated.  Brandon and the husband of crazy lady had to crawl under the bus and strategically place logs and boards scavenged from the yard to make a platform for the bus extraction.  I watched the tow truck driver take a deep breath, square his shoulders, and decide that this was a challenge and he was going to make it happen.  I thought it was scary and wished he would have brought a bigger truck and maybe his dad.   

I took this photo of the bus being towed through a small town.  Brandon and his dad followed behind the bus in his little red pickup truck and Brandon's mom and I were the last car in the convoy.  We stopped for pizza carryout on our way to the blue bus's new home.