Towanda, I don't believe that we're in Kansas anymore...

Towanda has arrived and work has begun to turn her into a rolling studio and sometime home!

I have become sudden friends with the school bus drivers who pass my house four times a day. I grin and wave, and they cheerfully smile and wave back. Who knew I would become kindred spirits with the neighborhood bus drivers?

Now the neighborhood is a different matter entirely. The trouble all started when the nice couple across the street moved in. Larry owns a demolition company, which makes zero difference but for all the HEAVY equipment he has suddenly acquired - and by "heavy equipment" I mean a couple of semis WITH trailers, a full-sized caterpillar, bobcats, etc. Not only does Larry park these beasts in his yard and in the woods behind his house, he pretty constantly works on the LOUD diesel engines in his driveway, with the wretched trailers sticking half out into the street.

As if the industrial machinery weren't enough, Larry likes to rebuild old cars, boats, motorcycles, etc., etc., ETC. Shortly after he moved in, three cars arrived in his driveway - one avocado green, one primer grey, and one ORANGE (scream intended). The green one had no wheels, plus it had the cut-off roof from anOTHER car of some kind upside down on the hood. Ack! I whined pretty thoroughly to Larry about how I was about to sell my house, and I am happy to say he moved that lot to the woods beside his house...where I can still catch a glimpse of orange on a bad day.

And then there are all the other vehicles in, around, and in front of his garage. A sizeable speedboat, two jetskis, two or three buzzbombs (the NON-street legal dunebuggies with the unmuffled engines), at least two mini-cycles, a full-sized and loud bike, two pick ups, a sedan, and I think there's something else, but I can't quite remember what right now.

Now this is a REALLY nice guy, and I like him a lot. But his vehicles are a real problem. Especially given this neighborhood, which is supposed to be a quiet place in the suburbs where we can all repose in bucolic peace. Hard to focus on peaceful thoughts with the constant idle of diesel and generators rhythmically rumbling in the background. I like to drink my coffee outside on occasion, and one morning, after the ceaseless and ear-pressing roar of diesel engines, I threw my head back and yelled at the heavens "If I'd WANTED to live in a truck stop, I would've bought a place on the freeway!" Grrr...

The Neighborhood Nazi has apparently been 'round to address this issue with Larry, as our deed restrictions don't allow for industry - light or heavy. Larry's response? "If you pay my mortage, I'll move the trucks." Hmmm...sure doesn't sound like the nice guy I've encountered, but then I haven't challenged him on the issue of his truck-a-rama.

The neighbors on either side of me compound the problem. On one side is a small driveway that holds a Suburban, a sedan, a 25 foot travel trailer and a 30 foot stakebed trailer. There's a jetski on the side of that house, too. On the other side of us, Victor's adult son has moved home aGAIN and with him comes his job - driving a semi, so THAT's frequently parked out front, next to the driveway with two pickups and a sedan. Victor just sold his 57 Chevy out of his garage, so there're only THREE cars and a boat in there...not to mention the 1932 tractor! *sigh* We have a SINGLE sedan in our driveway, and now a 30 foot YELLOW (scream intended) bus, too.

Needless to say, I was worried about how the neighborhood would react to a school bus parked in the driveway since the local quotient of strange vehicles has clearly already been exceeded. I have been getting some very fierce stares, but until someone stops and talks to me, I'm going to try hard to assume that those stares aren't malevolent. I'm working hard and fast to get Towanda looking like something other than a school bus. I figure getting the YELLOW (you know the drill by now) replaced with white will be a definite plus and will hopefully sooth a lot of ruffled feathers. I don't plan some great pile of junk issuing forth in the driveway, either, for there are ONLY 8 seats that need to be removed, and that many can be easily removed and hauled away within 24 hours.

Towanda arrived on Wednesday, so I've been busting some records trying to get her clean and ready to paint by the weekend. At least with her clean, I can invite folks in for a look around. Everyone is curious about schoolbuses. Most of us have at least one memory of riding the bus to school, and there's a certain curiosity that expresses itself at the idea of private ownership of such a thing. Our house is currently up for sale, and once prospective buyers have made the circuit, they ALL have come out to the bus to talk about what I'm doing and for a look inside. Funny, isn't it? Going to school was SUCH a pain, but the idea of owning a school bus as an adult is pretty cool.

The ongoing expectation amongst my friends and even from strangers, btw, is that I will be painting Towanda with some kind of psychedelic mural. *sigh* Sorry, neither a Deadhead nor a fan of tie-die.