MARK MY WORD: HOORAY FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORATION; BECCA'S RIDING BUS TO SCHOOL

It's amazing how motivating a big, yellow school bus can be.

Our 7-year-old used to be slow to dress and slower still to get into the car.

We regularly left the house with only minutes to spare before the start of school.

It was a constant race when she was in kindergarten and first grade. We would make the mad dash to school, pulling up to the front doors in hopes of beating the school bell.

This year, we started arriving a few minutes earlier. Rather than an all-out sprint, this year began more like a vehicular jog.

But suddenly our dead-end street quit being dead end. It was extended to connect to a new street in our neighborhood.

As a result, the school bus began stopping in front of a neighbor's house, just two doors down the street.

It's tough to resist such service.

Becca, who used to be comatose in the morning, has found new life.

She springs out of bed each morning and is dressed and ready to go long before the bus arrives.

She's out the door by 7:45 a.m. She eagerly waits in front of the neighbor's house for the bus.

Becca likes to chat with friends in the back of the bus.

For Becca, the bus is a one-way ride.

When school gets out, a van takes her to an after-school center.

She has to settle for a ride home with mom or dad.

Up until now, I've never truly appreciated public transportation.

If a big, old bus can get Becca hopping in the morning, imagine what Metrolink could do for us.

A government-subsidized train could run circles around our children or at least get them to school.

Of course, we don't want to totally lose mom-and-dad's taxi service.

And we won't, at least for a few years.

We've still got 3-year-old Bailey to shuttle to day care for a couple more years.

But I've already started thinking about what it might be like when both Becca and Bailey are going to the same school and riding the same bus.

The great thing about a school bus is that you don't have to look up the itinerary or worry about having the correct change.

Still, I'm not sure if Joni and I can go to work without first dropping off a child.

How else can we explain getting to work late?

Of course, even a school bus won't eliminate our family outings to the stores, and shuttling Becca to friends' homes.

There's nothing like a little quality time in the car with your family, provided the children aren't fighting or trashing the vehicle with chocolate cereal.

There are times I wonder how bus drivers do it. How do they keep all those children in line? Do they use hypnosis?

Perhaps, it's the window-filled vehicle itself. Kids just like those yellow buses.

Becca's ride to school is a short one. But the bus ride isn't a question of endurance. For now anyway, it's a question of fun.

At our home, we're learning the wave as in waving goodbye to our bus rider each morning.

There's nothing like an education when it's rolling along.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.