An old lady walked into the buss but at first you could never have told that she was old at all. She wore stylish clothes that weren't hip. No no hip clothes would set off a contrast with her grey hair.

She wore a straw hat. It was the kind you might think you would find in the streets of Mexico. She carries herself the way that Spaniards do. Shoulders up and very suave. Usually you would think that an old person would have their shoulders hunched the entire time but this lady made her best efforts to have a straight back.

The reason of this was clear as she started talking in fluent Spanish to a very cute boyish man in a wheel chair of Mexican or Spanish decent. They had a very animated conversation about a band and how that band doesn't practice enough. The old lady even said the band's name was Radio Head which was the band that was playing at the Santa Barbara Bowl in a couple of days.

The lady was also wearing a scarf. It was blue and red just like the American flag but without the white. She also had the southerners drawl when she talked, even when she talked in Spanish. She was lugging around a cart with some of her belongings no doubt. Who knew where she went on buss days?

The buss waited for me one day after I had been at my dad's and stepmom's house and then after that I noticed the busses started waiting for people at certain bus stops. They would open the doors to wait for people. Sometimes while they did this they would examine the bus or eat lunch.

That day a man walked into the buss and struck up a conversation with the buss driver. It was in Spanglish. I was very annoyed by him. Then later I asked another bus driver to Milpas a question that took awhile and I felt like a hypocrite because I was holding up the line and people were getting annoyed at me.

One day as I got off the buss, an African American man of about 25 or perhaps older and some of his friends, wolf-whistled at me an called me a bad-ass. Now when I didn't smile ( because I was confused) and after I sat down, he told me that I should smile because I was one of the most beautiful woman in Santa Barbara. He also told me that if anyone gave me trouble I should come to him. Of course I couldn't do that because i didn't know who the hell he was but it was still nice of him.

Through that entire experience, my emotions went on a sort of rolar-coaster. During the beginning I was lost and confused and probably insecure. Then when he gave me a high compliment and hint of protection, i felt better. Thats how bus days were. You never knew what you were going to see or what you were going to feel.

Then I thought of a funny notion the another day. The Milpas buses are devided into East and West buses, just like gangs. Gangs of the east side and the west side. This occupied my mind for quit a while.

That is until I decided my favorite buss line of the day was "I slept and ate lunch and then I ate lunch and I slept."

That day I got on the bus at a stop that is closer to my house. I also got off there. However it took me a little while to find the bus stop in the morning. I was running around a couple blocks just to find it.

One day a man who looked to be in his forties sat next too me on the bus. I was annoyed because I don't like people sitting next to me on the bus. He started talking about a band called Radio Head that was playing at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Suddenly he was asking me what I was doing later that evening. I was confused. I didn't want to go anywhere alone with a man that much older than me! So I smiled and shook my head. I soon forgot about the incident and went on with my day.

Then one other day I was getting off the bus and a fat man who looked Spanish stopped me by speaking Spanish. Then he went on about my pink sunglasses and how they made me look different. At first he thought I was in high school and then he though I was older as in, in my thirties. Then he asked me out. By this point I'm really freaked out because he's number two old guy too ask me out. So I said I'm not old enough and walked away.

I felt rather shaken by that incident and I spent quit a bit of my time thinking about what I would do to the next guy I ran into.

I made sure to run away as soon as the new guy made his move.

These incidents at the buss stop made me very wary of older men. Especially men that looked like they were in their thirties. Grandpa age I was less frightened of. But for a couple days there I was very wary and it was hard not to be wary of boys even my age. That made things difficult. You never knew what would happen on Bus Days...

The next day on the bus I saw a man sleeping and a man eating sitting right next too each other. They seemed very comfortable.

Flamenco music was playing in the front of the buss and a Hawaiian woman in the back carried a straw matt for the beaches.

A hip hop dancing troup sat in the middle swaying to their ipods. An old lady grumbled about how load those ipods were playing.

A scarf flew past the window.

An African American man had struck up an animated conversation with a Spanish lady.

I was on the Milpas number 2 buss and I was starting to suspect that some of the hip hop dancers were gang members. I felt afraid.

The buss had waited for me that day.

Nothing much new had happened on that Bus Day except…

There he was.

An African American boy of my age.

I stared into his eyes and he stared back shyly.