The Bobs on the bus

By Lauri Hennessey

The other day, I heard about the Bobs.

Okay, I know that's a common name, and some of you may even know that I am married to a Bob... but this is a different kind of Bob, not the named kind.

"Bob" is what they call the people who sit on the "back of the bus" when it comes off the ferry boat. I live on Vashon, and the buses are a big part of our commute. I have always wondered about the whole commuter side of Vashon, those people who sit together on the bus every day and hang out. In fact, I even tried it for a while. I made it a year. Then we moved away and weren't able to come back until I no longer had to be a "Bob." But that's another story.

My experience with the Bobs is that these ferry/bus commuters are a pretty tight-knit group. I know my husband has made all of his best friends chatting on the bus each day. I used to always assume that becoming "in" with the commuters was a long process. You just had to chip away, get to know them for a long time. I know when I spent my year commuting, I always felt a bit like an outsider looking in at these guys.

Turns out, they can be quite hospitable.

Meet Adam Westerman, a 10-year old kid that I have to admit could break into any club. Adam has been commuting here from West Seattle, pretty much every evening, for the last three months. Adam is the lead in Drama Dock's "Red Ranger Came Calling," and he and his mom commute over on the bus each night for rehearsal.

I remember the first time I saw Adam sing and dance. It was last year, when he tried out for "Oliver" on Vashon. The kid is amazingly talented, with a beautiful high soprano that nature hasn't taken away from him yet. In addition to being gifted musically, he is utterly charming. He is the kind of kid you just imagine taking life by storm.

It didn't take Adam long to find his way to the back of the bus every evening, and all accounts are that he is now front and center in the "bobs." In fact, all of his new commuting buddies are saying they plan to come and see him in the show.

Adam's mom has been very touched by how accepting and welcoming Adam's new buddies are. In fact, she says, she makes it a point to sit apart from him on the bus so he can hang with all of his friends. As Adam's mom told me about his experience on the bus each night, I found myself wondering about what makes a community warm and inviting. Is it the community, or it the person who moves there?

When I commuted to the city each day about a decade ago, I was angry about leaving my baby at home. I sat on that bus, either resentful that I was headed to the city or resentful that my boat would be late and my baby would miss more time with me. Small wonder I sat off to the side. Then you take Adam. Here's a kid who juggles school work, life, and a musical, and commutes here every day. Yet every time I see him, the kid is happy. He doesn't appear ragged, or tired, or crabby. No wonder the Bobs want him to be part of the gang.

How do we all replicate that Adam spirit as we trudge through life? Whether it's too much work, too many bills, too many scheduling conflicts - whatever the reason - this year, I want to do it all with a little more joy, a little more chutzpah, and little more ... Adam.

So here's what I think we should do this Christmas season. Sure, go to productions, make gingerbread houses that fall down, decorate your house and yard to beat the band, and play Christmas music until your husband screams. But how about if all of us try to do it with a bit more cheer?

And that cheer can help us survive the most challenging of hurdles - the logistics of island life. In the end, we live on an island, and we get a lot for that. But maybe the commute, or the ferry lines, or the power outages ... maybe the magic doesn't mean anything if it doesn't come with a cost.

And as for me - the next time I actually land on a Metro bus and see those people on the back of the bus, hanging out and talking like they are in a club? I think I will say hello.

I'll just tell them Adam sent me.

Lauri Hennessey runs a public relations firm, and can be reached at Lauri@hennesseypr.com. Her daughter is also in "Red Ranger Came Calling", a Drama Dock production that plays at the Blue Heron on Vashon Island on the weekends of Dec. 14 and 21.