Bus Ride: (Chapter 2)

     The next morning the boys came meandering out of their houses. Joe talked to his mom and dad the night before and after some fenagling, they agreed to let him go. He walked down the street towards Dave and Mike’s houses. The three boys met up and headed downtown. They were dressed in casual clothes of the time. They had on different colored pullover shirts, blue jeans, and Converse high tops. You could get the high tops in any color you wanted as long as it was black or white. The white high tops were new and the boys favored them because they thought they looked groovy.

     They walked around the corner one block to the bus stop. The bus went straight downtown from this stop. The morning heat was really getting turned up. As they stood there waiting in the heat and starting to sweat, all three wondered the same thing. Which bus would they get. At this point in time the San Antonio Transit system was in the process of switching over from the old 1950’s buses to the new buses. The old buses had no air conditioning and small windows to open. They must’ve been designed for up north. The new buses were air conditioned. They had big windows, but they didn’t need to be opened. It’s easy to tell which bus you were getting on because of the front windows. The old buses had small front windows high on the vehicle. The new buses had huge front windows which took up most of the front of the bus. It was very futuristic looking.

     Finally, after several minutes they could see a bus topping the hill. Even far away they could see the large front windows. All three boys jumped in unison and yelled, “Yes!” It was an air conditioned bus.

     The bus pulled up to the stop and the boys got on. As soon as the driver opened those doors, they could feel the air conditioning hit them in the face. It felt so good, like an oasis in the desert. All three boys dropped their dime in the coin collector beside the driver. They ran down the aisle to get a seat. They talked and laughed the entire way down there. They probably annoyed some of the passengers around them, but nothing was said because they were kids. After about fifteen minutes the boys were deposited at Commerce and Alamo Street, one block from the Alamo.

      On the corner was a department store, Joske’s of Texas. It was huge for its time. Joske’s had four floors, escalators, and of course air conditioning. The highlight of the store for the boys was the toy department on the fourth floor. They got to ride the escalators all the way up. Once on the fourth floor there was an amazing toy land. There were massive electric train set ups you could watch. Then there were slot car tracks set up where you could race the cars yourself. The coup de gras was the new Hot Wheels track. It was set up so the kids could race a car on the track. If you got there early enough the track could be all yours for a short time. It was fun. It was an elaborate track. Dave and Mike decided to race. They set the cars up and Dave counted down, “three, two, one.” The boys flipped their gate down and the cars took off. It was a close race, but Dave won and went into his celebration zua. In the middle of Dave’s zu zu zuaaaaaaaa Mike was griping about his car hesitating at the gate, but no one was listening. The boys laughed and then it was Joe’s turn. He and Dave set the cars up. They had the countdown, and the gate was opened. Again, it was a close race, but Joe won by half a car length. This time Dave did the in trouble zua. Dave stood there dumbfounded and made his funny face and noises. The boys loved it and laughed as they had a great time. They raced for a while but had to relinquish the track to other kids showing up. They decided it was time to run around the gazebo in front of the Alamo.

     They never went down the escalators in the normal way. The escalators going up and down were in different sections and completely enclosed. It was like walking in a dimly lit hallway. In this case the hallway ascended up or went down and you stood there. It wasn’t like the escalators now with open, up, and down escalators next to each other. Right beside these escalators were huge rubber handles with two foot metal plates on both sides. Since the lighting was dim it provided a perfect slide. Just jump on and slide down to the next floor in mere seconds. It reminded Joe of the bowling ball return where suddenly your ball pops out of the hole and you’re just there. The boys sent one person down first as a lookout. In this case it was Mike. He road down the traditional way and began scanning. Joe and Dave stayed on the fourth floor looking out for any store personnel. When Mike gave the all clear signal, Dave jumped on the slide, put his hands on his chest and headed down the chute. The ride was probably thirty five feet long. It was a thrill ride that got the adrenaline surging. This time there was no zua, it was just a primal high pitched scream, haaaaaaaahahaaaaaaa. A second later he popped out at the bottom. Fortunately, he landed on his feet. Seconds later the all clear was given to Joe, who had never done this before. He did the same thing as Dave. He popped out the bottom and stumbled but maintained his balance as Dave and Mike laughed.

     Dave was still laughing, “You almost lost it on that one. Good recovery for your first time.”

     Joe was still laughing, “I didn’t think I was going to make it.”

     The boys navigated three more floors the same way without getting caught. They rotated who went down first and managed to end up on the first floor unscathed. They came out of the store in Alamo Plaza. Dave yelled, “Last one to the gazebo has to rent the paddle boat!”

     Joe was the new guy and wasn’t sure what was going on but ran to the gazebo. Dave beat Joe but Mike was the slow one. Mike came in last and was already complaining, “Man, I always end up paying. It’s not right.”

     Dave laughed, “Okay you big baby. You’re right. Joe and I will pay.”

     Mike smiled and everyone was happy. Well, almost everyone. Joe was not aware of the arrangement. He stood there a second wondering whether to complain and decided not to say anything, besides, he was having fun. The boys ran around the gazebo for a minute and then sat on the benches underneath the large, thatched roof. They just people watched. Dave did most of the commentary, “Look at that guy.” He was pointing to a heavy set short guy dressed in long shorts, a palm tree tourist shirt and a Caribbean straw hat. He had on big sunglasses and probably a lot of sunscreen. His wife looked exactly like him. Dave continued, “Watch, watch, they’re Yankees. They’ll walk to the front of the Alamo for a few seconds, stand there, and then walk off.”

     The boys watched as the couple did exactly as Dave said. After standing there for maybe thirty seconds they walked off.

     Joe turned slowly to Dave, “How did you know that?”

     “I’ve seen it over and over again. They come down here to see the Alamo and after a few minutes they’re not impressed, and they move on. I don’t know what they’re expecting to see, dead Mexican soldiers, or swords sticking in the ground?” Dave noticed a good looking woman with a great body. She was wearing a short blue skirt with a yellow blouse, “Man, look at her. Mike, I’ll give you a dollar if you go talk to her. At least get her name.”

     Mike laughed, “Yeah right. She’s way older than us. She would just laugh or worse yet, slap me, and you don’t have a dollar anyway.”

     Dave looked at Joe, “In a minute we’ll go down to the river and get a paddle boat and you won’t believe what we do down there.”

     The boys walk across the street to an open air arcade. It’s one of the seedy shops around the Alamo. Several have popped up in recent years. It’s hot in the arcade but they decide to play pin ball games for a while and get a coke. The arcade is playing music loudly to take people’s minds off the heat. The Rolling Stones, Satisfaction, the Beatles, Back in the USSR and others from the era. As the boys walk in the music is Last Train to Clarksville by the Monkees. After the boys finished, they went around the back of the arcade and down to the river walk. The river walk is fifteen feet below street level, this makes it about ten degrees cooler. It feels great when it’s hot up top and you go down to the water. The river itself is about twenty feet wide and three feet deep, so you don’t have to worry about drowning in it. The river is peaceful for the most part. The water is a bluish green, and the sidewalks are made of stone. The boys walked along, and Joe said, “Man that smells good.”

     Dave said, “Yeah, these restaurants have great food, and you can go inside where it’s cool or sit outside and watch the people walking on the river. It’s almost like another world. Everyone is so laid back. The tourists, the restaurant and bar workers, I love it.”

     Mike chimed in, “They have river parades and all kinds of things going on. We’ll show you the Arneson River Theater. The stage is on one side of the river and the audience sits on the other side of the river. There are grass seats that ascend up to the street level. There’s a bridge next to the theater which crosses over to the grass side. We have a lot of fun down here.”   

     The boys hit the river and headed straight for the paddle boats. Dave spoke up to Joe, “We’re heading to Javier’s to get a paddle boat. Javier is a good guy, but he gets upset with us sometimes. We can’t always pay at the time. He still gives us paddle boats though.”

     They walk up to get a boat and notice a lot of boats are on the river today. Dave says, “Hey, Javier, I need a boat.”

     Javier had a disgusted look on his face, “Last time you wanted a boat I didn’t get my money. It’s a dollar an hour and you only had fifty cents. I want my full dollar up front this time.”

Dave smiled and turned to Joe, “I got fifty cents. That means I need fifty cents from you.”

     Joe acknowledged, “Okay, here you go.”

     There weren’t many boats to pick from. Dave turned to Javier, “Business is good vato, yes?”

     Javier still had a disgusted look on his face, “I’m doing alright. No thanks to you guys. I’ve started the clock so get your boat.”

      The boys picked out a boat and began to paddle off when Javier yelled, “Hey, that’s for one hour!”

      The boys all waved and continued paddling. They paddled the boat taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk was colorful with all the Mexican accoutrements. There were pinatas, lights strung across the river, and festive paper mâché objects everywhere. The speakers had Mexican music come out of them with live mariachi quartets playing in several of the restaurants. The smell of Mexican food was intoxicating. A person couldn’t help but get hungry. There were other types of restaurants. San Antonio is known for Mexican food but they also have great Italian, Asian, and seafood restaurants. All of which makes for a divine combination of the senses when being down on the river. It was an atmosphere you never forget. The boys loved riding on the river waving at everyone on shore. As they paddled towards the main part of the river where the tourists were, Dave saw something. He motioned to head to the edge of the river towards a family of four. They were the all American family. Mom and dad were standing there looking at a pamphlet while the two five year old girls, who had to be twins, jumped around mom and dad with youthful energy. What Dave saw were tourists who didn’t know where they were going. This is an opportunity. Dave smiled at Joe, “Watch this.”

     Dave spoke loudly in a thick Mexican accent so the man would notice him, “Escuse me sir. Are you looking for someplace?”

     The man looked up and saw the boys on the boat. He smiled, “Yeah, is there a good place to eat around here?”

     Dave answered, “Oh, yes sir amigo. The Casa Rio is right there. It’s thee best restaurant in town. If you wan to see some fun stuff for the girls later, you can go to La Villita and watch the glass blowers.”

     The man and his wife smiled, “Thanks, you were very helpful.” The family turned to walk off and the father stopped. He turned and pulled out his wallet. He fiddled for a second and pulled out a one dollar bill. He handed it to Dave, “Thanks, you’ve been a big help.”

     Dave waved the dollar at him as he walked off, “Thank you amigo. Anytime.”

     Dave sat down and the three boys ogled their newfound wealth. Joe’s eyes and mouth were wide open, “How did you do that, and what’s with the Mexican accent?”

     Dave laughed, “We do it all the time. I had a guy a few weeks ago give me a five dollar bill. He must’ve been a big time Yankee. I do the accent because it’s what they expect. It makes the experience more real for them.”

     Joe was still in shock, “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

     Dave laughed, “You ain’t seen nothin yet.”

     Joe squirmed, wondering what was next.