The hierarchy of bus stop etiquette:
Where it comes from and to whom it applies

Krista Goebel

I wake up early enough to finish reading an article and write a paper on it. While I'm doing so I scarf down my now habitual bowl of bran from a pineapple sherbert plastic bowl. I watch, as I'm rinsing the rest of the milk and mush down the sink, while the children across the street wait for the bus to fetch them and drive them far away to various brick establishments of learning. They play catch with a small rubber ball this morning, the boys do, while the girls chat in another corner of the lawn that is designated as the bus stop. Their school bags in a row on the sidewalk remind me of our own bus stop rules in our days at school.

Rule 1:

The first one there does not automatically get to board the bus first. The student who spots the bus rounding the corner and yells "BUUUUS" first, actually gets to walk on ahead of the others. This is understood and respected by all. Subsequent boarders must have their book bags, lunchboxes or other personal belongings in a row to mark the order in which they will be climbing the steps and finding a seat.

Rule 2:

Don't bring your mother to the bus stop. All bus stop games and conversations are ceased in the presence of a mom. Even if she is a cool mom, if she is not in a bathrobe or there to defend her child's honor, she is not welcome. The student will soon learn, on the bus, as soon as the vehicle has pulled away, what an asshole he is for having his mother walk him to the stop. He won't do it again.

Rule 3:

Dweller of house where bus stop in fact sits does not own the bus stop but is ensured good standing with other waiters due to the availability of good toys, a ball or a bathroom.

Rule 4:

Don't eat at the bus stop. You will not be popular if you think it's okay to finish a pop tart, a toaster struedel or a juice box while waiting. Bus stop etiquite shows that the eater will be left out of games. Bus stop time is considered much like an extra recess, an eater will be chastized. One cannot eat and dribble a ball well. The non-eaters or those who must have "CEREAL MEDLEY" and toast will resent children who have good breakfast food and want to kick their asses or move in with them.

Rule 5:

Don't change stops. Though there may be a stop farther down the street where your other friends wait, you will not be able to return to your original stop once you've abandoned it for another stop on the street. This could prove very inconveinient to you on the occasion of inclimate weather or a fight between you and the friend who waits at the further stop.

Rule 6:

Big kids are in charge of bus stops. Little kids should comply with all unspoken rules and displays of social norms considering the bus stop and it's participants. A younger sibling of the oldest bus stop waiter will be ruling in his siblings impending absence, even if there is a child older than the sibling of the eldest child. This is obvious.

All these things I note as I drive to school and I have to wonder how these teqniques evolved and how they've become universal, but they have. Keep your eyes out to watch how little people interact. It's facinating.