This morning, on my way to pick up Marti and go to work, I got stuck behind a school bus. I wasn't that late, so it wasn't a big deal or anything. As the school bus would stop to drop kids off, I'd pull up behind, trying to stay some distance back for safety purposes. I had only just woke up about 20 minutes earlier, so I wasn't all that aware of my surroundings, but I noticed that the kids in the back of the bus were waving at me, trying to get a response.

As I watched the kids wave, I wondered exactly what I should do. My options were pretty simple; I could respond, or I could ignore them. At first, I was going to ignore them. I was too sleepy, too oblivious to the world around me to care. But then I remembered being that age and being the one sitting in the back of the bus, waving at the guy in the car behind me. Boy, did it make me mad when the guy in the car behind the bus would ignore me. Today, I wasn't going to be "that guy".

So, I decided I'd better respond. I was going to just wave back, but that was boring. I am not the kind of person who just waves back. It's just not my style.

I summoned all the energy I could gather in my semi-conscious state and made the silliest, goofiest, face that I could muster. My tongue waggled all over the place, my fingers hooked into my cheeks, my eyes rolling around in my head. I made a loud, guttural sound that the kids in the bus couldn't hear, but I know it made the face even sillier.

The kids in the bus froze for a second with a suprised look on their faces, turned around, and sat down in their seats, disappearing from my line of sight.

I picked up Marti and we headed for work, and just after we pulled out of his driveway, I found myself behind the same bus, with the same kids. I had just barely had time to tell Marti the story of what had just happened, and here they were -- the same kids that I had just decimated with my crazy face-making.

So I did it again. I revved myself up for a second silly face and let loose. This time, the kids in the bus were prepared. They hadn't expected my response the last time, but this time, they were ready for me. Every single one of the kids on that bus hooked their fingers into their cheeks and made the same silly face right back at me. The bus turned a corner, and I drove on.

I had a very good day.

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