Bus Drivers: Best Day Ever!

A Bus Full of Stuffed Animals… Oh Wait, That One’s Breathing!

I’ve seen a lot in my years on the road—snowstorms, traffic jams, and passengers with more luggage than an entire moving truck. But nothing could have prepared me for the day I drove a bus full of stuffed animals… or so I thought.

The day started off normally enough. I only had one trip to do and my shift was over. The driver I normally took over from was usually waiting for me, but not this day.

And there it was—a mountain of plush toys, stacked in various states of cute disarray. Bears, bunnies, a few slightly questionable looking clowns, and—was that a giraffe with sunglasses? Clearly, a daycare group had taken over the bus at some point and left their cargo behind.

Now, I’ve been a bus driver long enough to know that people leave all sorts of things behind. Umbrellas, phones, sandwiches (sometimes half-eaten, because why not?)—but this? This was a first. And it wasn’t just one or two teddy bears. This was an army. I had unknowingly become the captain of Bus 101: The Stuffed Safari.

As I drove along, I started to relax. There was something oddly comforting about a silent, plush-filled bus. No complaints, no one asking, “Does this go downtown?” even though there’s a giant sign that says Downtown Express. Just peace… and button eyes staring into my soul.

Then, it happened.

I glanced in the mirror, and I saw movement. One of them was breathing.

My hands gripped the wheel tighter. Had I been driving too long? Was this the moment where I finally lost it?

I turned my head slowly, trying not to alarm my passengers. And that’s when I saw it—

A pair of human eyes blinking back at me.

I nearly hit the brakes. One of these “stuffed animals” was very much alive.

“Uh… hi?” I said, because what else do you say to a stuffed bear with a pulse?

A tiny voice piped up from within the pile. “I fell asleep.”

And just like that, a child emerged from the mountain of fluff, rubbing his eyes like this was the most normal thing in the world. Apparently, his mom had handed him a teddy bear to nap with, and somewhere along the ride, he had become one with the fluff.

His mother, who had been sitting quietly a few seats away, came over, completely unfazed. “Told you he could sleep anywhere,” she said, scooping him up as if this wasn’t the closest I’d ever come to calling in a paranormal event.

At the end of the line, I took one last look at my stuffed passengers and shook my head. You just never know what you’ll encounter in a day. Some people fight traffic, some deal with demanding bosses, and some of us… discover that not all stuffed animals are what they seem.

Moral of the story? Sometimes life surprises you in the weirdest, funniest ways. You can either panic and overthink it—or laugh and roll with it.

I highly recommend the second option.

Back at the transit yard, I had to go check the rest of the bus. I left the front doors open.

“Who knows?” I asked myself.

Maybe one of these stuffed animals would be willing to fill out a job application.