The Bus

It’s been nearly 60-years since the bus made its’ memorable mark on American history. For decades buses have been responsible for transcending subjects like music, race, politics, economics, civil-rights, and education. They have been the primary catalyst for evolution, and change. I’ve often thought that the bus could be compared to the barbershop. I mean that with respect to the similar degrees of monumental discussions, and movements taking place in parallel. Much like the barbershop, the bus has fostered many conversations with all of its' subjects sitting in one place.

It was around the ages of 5 or 6 when this lesson began manifesting for me. In my youth, my mother and I would take frequent bus rides from High Point, North Carolina to Pittsboro, North Carolina, where grandparents lived. On those rides I can remember taking it all in. There was something about the sign locations, the view, the smells, the sounds, and even the routes that we traveled that helped hold my attention. Little did I know, or understand at the time that I was also learning how to decode historical content. My vision was developing, my instincts were brewing, and most importantly my world was being shaped. See the bus for me is what some would call part of, "Early Childhood Visual Development". That idea was later confirmed while sitting in one of my Child Development classes in my undergrad days at East Carolina University. My then professor, Dr. Charles Snow, was lecturing on, "Visual Learners".

Fast-forward to today’s photo session, and all of the vivid images of my bus ride experiences collided. Not only did I have the memories of my childhood, but those from high school, and college as well. They all left remains of themselves. It’s amazing how one simple vehicle can sum up your entire life on four wheels. The images that I saw in history class about the bus boycotts of of yesterday helped me capture the residue of history for millions on a old abandoned bus. Watching modern films like "Remember the Titans" and "Get on the Bus", all reminded me that it's always my responsibility to capture authenticity what each subject represents. Even if it means that I'm telling portions of my own story.