Different Bus, Different Vibe

We went to Donegal town today to visit the library. As we waited for the bus, I noticed more flowers in the stone planters.

Because it's Thursday, and Aldi and Lidl have new stock in on Thursdays, there were more people on the bus than on other days. Since it was a large Bus Eireann though, it wasn't crowded, so I plunked my heavy bag of library books onto the seat next to me and tatted my way to town.

They are doing some major road works, so it took a little bit longer than usual, but I was happily engaged in my project, so I didn't care. It was quite relaxing.

When we got there, we had about 45 minutes to wait until the librarian was back from lunch, so we walked around a little bit, checked the health food store for something that they didn't have, then went and got a scone, which we ate outside of the library by the river.

In the library, I returned my pile of books and was happy enough to hand over the large, heavy art books I'd been lugging around! I had a couple of books in, but one was a slim volume of poetry and the other a regular size novel, so my bag felt light as a feather. We were chatting with the librarian and missed the bus we usually take home. No matter, there was another one 15 minutes later. We'd never taken that one before, so I wondered what to expect. I've been riding buses in rural Ireland for almost 5 years now and I've learned that they each have their own vibe, depending on the place, the company, the kind of bus it is, the drivers, and the regulars who ride.

This bus was not a big one, nor was it the smallest size. As a guess, I'd say it held maybe 25 people. It was full. The driver was very animated and cheerful. It took a little while for people to get on and settled with their shopping bags and other purchases, but people are always quite helpful and accommodating on the buses, so everyone found a place for themselves and their stuff without any fuss. One woman got on with her small daughter. I'm not good at ages, but I'd guess the girl was perhaps 4 years of age. After everyone was on, the little girl handed the bus driver a heart that she'd coloured. He was effusive in his thanks to her and then he held it up and said, 'Look everybody, she gave me a valentine! At least somebody loves me!' The little girl replied, 'YES!!!' We all applauded. A little while later, she asked the driver where all of his other Valentine cards were. He was smiling when he told her, 'Yours is the only one I got, darlin'. Nobody else loves me.' Then, from the back of the bus, we heard a guy's voice call out, 'I love you!' The driver was thrilled to hear it. 😉

Then, an older woman asked the driver about a song. She said he knows all the songs and she just had a few of the lyrics, but did he know what song it was? We were stopped at the road works, so he got out his phone, scrolled a little bit, and then we were listening to a song about Bulgaria not being in the news anymore, but here's a sheepdog named Bill who's worth his weight in gold. That was the song she was after.

After that one was over, Mary Black's Song for Ireland came on. I love that song. I've loved it since the first time I heard it in the late 80s (or early 90s?), although at the time I had no idea that I'd be living on 'the western shore' by the 'Atlantic sea' one day. My gratitude continues to be endless.

I think everyone on that bus was in a good mood. There were lots of smiles all around. It was a good vibe. Hope the vibe is good in your world today, too!

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