Do you ever take your socks off after a long day and have that damn ring around your leg? I know I have. Drives me crazy. Have you ever heard that saying, “From sugar to shit…” If not, you will understand it once I tell you this story.
My mother and I got on the bus that runs down the 101 Highway from Depoe Bay to Newport. We needed to go to Walmart while my son was at school and before the dogs went crazy. (There were three of them all with a short attention span and when they lost it we had neighbors who complained.)
All kinds of people ride that bus. From the homeless to those heading to work and (believe it or not) sightseers enjoying a ride down the highway. My mom and I enjoyed our rides. I would listen to my music. My mom would people watch while both of us craned our necks out the windows. When we got close to Walmart, I turned off my music and got ready to start the race through the store.
There is a group of homeless people who sit by the bus stop outside the Walmart parking lot. Sometimes they have a dog. Mom almost always gets the dog some food. This time the dog wasn’t there and she wanted to get them all socks.
It was 20 minutes before the bus returned. I had a smoke on the walk to the store, while we reviewed the list one more time — knowing where all these things are in the store. I crushed the cigarette under my shoe and through the doors we went. We grabbed a cart and the was race on. Fruits and vegs first, then the frozen food and so on. Halfway through, I veered off to find some things for my son and me. This time, I had to get socks as well.
Ma was better at watching the time. To find each other we played Marco Polo. That’s how I knew it was time to go. Of course, other people played the game as well. Being a 30-year-old child, I screamed, “Stranger danger! You’re not my mom!” Laughing, I went on the hunt for my mom. We giggled as we went to the check-out stand. Mom was stressed to the max about time until we got back to the bus stop, driving me crazy.
We would got outside, I grabbed as many bags as I could so mom didn’t have to carry too much. At the bus stop, I light up a smoke. She grabbed the socks and handed them to the group. They were so happy. Saying, “thank you” over and over. It put a huge smile on my mom’s face which of course put a smile on mine.
The bus came around the corner and I grabbed the bags and got on the bus. Then the group of homeless got on the bus, which never happened before. At the light the next thing we knew, the guy with the package of socks held them up and asked, “Who needs new socks?”
Ma and I just looked at each other and smiled. That is until the homeless started taking off their shoes and socks to put on new socks, leaving the others where they fell. At the next stop, the group got off the bus leaving their old socks behind.
This time, when I looked at my mom with my nose under my shirt, I said, “This is your fault.” Laughing because she was mad as hell! The smell of the socks never ended until we got to our stop and finally was able to escape to clean air. The bus driver and my mom are friends, so Ma said, “Sorry.” As she left.
The driver shook her head and smiled before pulling away. I picked up the bags and started walking to the trailer, laughing so hard I had to pe. Ma smiled and told me to “Fuck off.” Well shoot dang, that went from sugar to shit. | BV