"Dreams Die Hard"

Almost the first of February but it was one of those days that could fool you into believing that spring was just around the corner.  It was warm enough outside that I opened the driver’s window to let air circulate through the bus to keep it from getting stuffy from all those little warm bodies.  Students were excitedly talking about how they were going to play outside when they got home.  Then in all the excitement there was a sound that was out of place.  It started low but began to grow in volume.  I looked in the rearview mirror for the source of the sound of someone crying.  Now crying on a school bus is not an unusual occurrence.  It quite often is coming from the driver but that’s another story.  Yet this was not just crying it was on the verge of what I would term as weeping.  I located the source and there she set with tears rolling down her little round face.  One look at her and you couldn’t help but think, “Who ever made this baby cry is in serious trouble.”  The little boy seating next to her was the obvious choice.  This would not be the first little girl he made cry.  Then I did what any man with a daughter and a granddaughter would do.  I gave him the evil eye and at the same time I said, “Come here baby tell Mr. Brandon what’s wrong.”  There was a pause while I waited for the sobbing to come under control so I could understand what she was saying.  During this pause all I could think was how much trouble that boy was going to be in.  Catching her breath she was able to tell me the heart wrenching details, “Mr. Brandon, I wanted a space ship for Christmas and I didn’t get one.”  Having relayed the information she then turned the tears back on.  I would have gladly given her a space ship, if I had one, but no luck.  Trying to ease her pain I explain that I had not received a space ship for Christmas either.  Then we took a quick survey of the four front seats.  Seems no one had received a space ship for Christmas.  It did not ebb the flow of tears but they did slow down.  When dreams die, solace is often difficult to find.