Sic Semper Tyrannis

You Can Never Hold Back Spring

Driving back from lunch today I was stopped behind a school bus on Independence Ave in the neighborhood, windows down and moonroof open. The sun shone and the air was clean with that feeling of Spring’s possibilities. The driver was outside at the back of the bus, operating an automatic wheelchair lift in front of the driveway of a house.

A casually-dressed, middle-aged mom and her angelic little girl, with corn rows and barrettes, stood quietly waiting at the curb for big brother to emerge from the bus. In my head the cherubic little brown-skinned girl had been whiling away the hours at home with mom, wondering when it would ever be time for the school bus to arrive- a daily ritual, I presumed.

Big brother and son finally did exit the bus in his wheelchair, head slightly bobbing, rhythmically, his face frozen in a permanent smile.

As the bus pulled away in front of me I lingered there to watch them greet each other, this snapshot of familial homecoming- a picture of innocence facing seemingly insurmountable odds.

posted by Mike @ 6:27 PM