I don't think I've ever seen a happier bunch of boys
Coming home from work one day last week, I hopped on the bus and noticed the entire back seat, plus two rows in front of that was filled to bursting with boys.
Large boys.
Young men, really.
Probably around 20 years old or so, maybe a little younger, hard to tell.
They were happy.
They were rowdy.
They were loud.
They were singing.
Yep, singing.
From Norwood all the way to the city, they sang songs or parts of songs, and tried songs in different styles, such as "barbershop quartet" with clapping and finger snapping included.
There must have been a couple of dozen young men and they weren't causing any trouble at all, just singing very loudly, being happy and having fun.
After they got off the driver apologised to the rest of us, (4 women, the rest of the bus was empty), and said because they weren't causing trouble, he felt he couldn't do anything about the noise. We all said we hadn't minded.
The driver had reported the boys by radio, probably when they first got on and started singing, then reported back once they had de-bused to say they hadn't caused any trouble, had got off the bus quietly and everything was okay.
When I think back on it, I wish I'd thought to ask who they were, where they were from and why were they singing? Practising perhaps?
If I get on the bus one day in the future and they are there again, I will ask those questions.
Because now I have that curiosity that will never be satisfied.
Large boys.
Young men, really.
Probably around 20 years old or so, maybe a little younger, hard to tell.
They were happy.
They were rowdy.
They were loud.
They were singing.
Yep, singing.
From Norwood all the way to the city, they sang songs or parts of songs, and tried songs in different styles, such as "barbershop quartet" with clapping and finger snapping included.
There must have been a couple of dozen young men and they weren't causing any trouble at all, just singing very loudly, being happy and having fun.
After they got off the driver apologised to the rest of us, (4 women, the rest of the bus was empty), and said because they weren't causing trouble, he felt he couldn't do anything about the noise. We all said we hadn't minded.
The driver had reported the boys by radio, probably when they first got on and started singing, then reported back once they had de-bused to say they hadn't caused any trouble, had got off the bus quietly and everything was okay.
When I think back on it, I wish I'd thought to ask who they were, where they were from and why were they singing? Practising perhaps?
If I get on the bus one day in the future and they are there again, I will ask those questions.
Because now I have that curiosity that will never be satisfied.
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Or think of them as a smile along the way.
ReplyDeletePeople who are singing are not likely to cause trouble. Next time you run into them, join in.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it sad the world has come to believe that anytime there is a bunch of young people/kids ...... we can expect trouble. Trouble happens so often that we are shocked when we see a group of happy singing kids.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting on this. Delightful
There may be times when you wish you could get into car and drive somewhere, but truly, you miss an awful lot of good life in a motor car. Just think, how many interesting people and things you saw in the bus in the past twelve months, never mind the scenery out the window, which you see like no car driver ever does.
ReplyDelete..at least it was a nice encounter, more usually the bus is filled with noisy, swearing troublemakers.
ReplyDeleteA positive rowdy group is much better than an angry, violent one.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know where they were going. Maybe a group having a night out in the city or something.
A positive rowdy group is much better than an angry, violent one.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know where they were going. Maybe a group having a night out in the city or something.
How bizarre!! Maybe they were in a choir or something?? I wonder what you'd get if you googled singing groups in the Norwood area??
ReplyDeleteHow sad that the busdriver felt he had to a)report them, and b)apologise for their happy noises.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, next time (and I hope there is one) please ask them all those questions you and we want to know.
I sang 'If I loved You' to a dolly outside a pizza shop in Yarraville and a crowd gathered; someone said they'd call the police.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragon; it was definitely smile worthy.
ReplyDeleteDelores; I couldn't possibly join in, I sing terribly. flowers die when I sing.
Manzanita; I think it depends on the kids, sometimes a crowd really does look like you should cross to the other side of the street....
Andrew; the bus is definitely more interesting that way.
Tempo; yes, the drunk and swearing crowd that makes me wish I'd chosen to walk home. There seems to be less of that these days.
Sarah; they really seemed like a nice bunch of lads, perhaps a school choir or something.
Red Nomad; I could google, but I might not come up with anything, since they were all in casual clothes, there was no indication of school or church groups. I'm guessing a choir of some kind because they sang together quite well.
Elephant's Child; bus drivers report in all kinds of things, it helps to cover them if something does happen on the bus, for instance if a group turns nasty and people get hurt or otherwise abused, then at least the company knows where the trouble originated and can take security measures next time. The driver apologised to us I think because we were all older women who may have been worried about such a large group of rowdy boys.
R.H. I don't know what to say to that. Was your singing so terrible? Or perhaps the "dolly" didn't want to be sang to.
I did it to cheer her up, but Yarraville is a gentrified locale now, very tense.
ReplyDeleteR.H. at least your intentions were good.
ReplyDeleteAye.
ReplyDeleteAww. I suppose if they are loud enough to be a distraction to the DRIVER that is another matter. There is loud and boisterous and then there is loud and drunk and boisterous. Loud and boisterous is so much nicer. :)
ReplyDeleteR.H. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Elf Mom; the bus seemed strangely quiet after they got off.
So glad they weren't drunk and rowdy. The singing was quite good.
What a lovely, refreshing experience and yes, as Manzanita commented... it is sad that we normally associate young boys with trouble or expect it from them...
ReplyDelete