Flashback Friday

This week I will recall two of the most crazy rides on which I've ever been. The first occurred during my undergraduate years when I was a frequent rider of UTA. On my way to school one day, I went to board the bus. Before I could even step on the second riser, the bus driver asked me to pick up a rock that was right next to where the bus had stopped. (Let me describe this rock: it was HUGE. It was probably about 18 inches high and at least 36 inches in diameter. There is NO WAY that I would have been able to lift this rock.) As you can imagine, I was shocked but also disappointed because however was I to lift this rock?! I sighed and turned around to attempt the picking up of the rock. As soon I stepped off the bus, everyone on the bus erupted into laughter. I had been had. So very had. Boarding the bus with my head bowed in shame, I stayed that way for most the ride. But the story doesn't end here. At another stop, another rider who was less gullible than I, was asked to grab a shopping cart to bring to the bus driver. He was not to be had. But boy did the riders get a kick out of that. At another stop, a regular (they must have all been regulars) got on the bus, eliciting a raucous shout of "EL---VIS!" I guessed it was his name. He gave high-fives on the way to his seat. The whole time I was on this bus, all I could think about was the crazy music playing during one bus scene in the movie "Sixteen Candles." (Imagine kazoos and other crazy instruments.) That's exactly the music to be played during this scene of my life's movie.

Crazy Ride #2: When Mark finally plead guilty to Lori's killing, Fox News called and asked if I would do an interview. I said I would. They told me that they would send a car to bring me to their studio, which was somewhere in D.C. The car arrived, I got in, and then was whisked away to the studio. But the car barely had enough time to get into third gear because after less than two blocks, the car slowed, then stopped. The driver then announced that we had arrived. When I got out of the car, I could still see my building. (And it's not because I work in a skyscraper. Remember, this is D.C...our buildings are anything but tall.) The very genial driver stated that he would wait for me to finish the interview and then return me to my building. I practically had to order him to leave, as I was quite capable of going back to my office without the aid of the car. The whole thing felt so wasteful, until I read that Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday took a motorcade to go across the street for dinner. Now that's bad.