PARTY BUS!!!

I walked out the door of the school and the parent on my left goes, "Is that ours? Is that what we are taking to the Museum? That party bus?"
Huh?

I look up and see an enormous long black bus, with tinted black windows, and HUGE letters across the side that say: NYC Party Bus! Oh dear God. This cannot be the bus that was sent to take myself and 12 of our families to the Bronx Museum of the Arts for a celebration of the art they have been working on this year.

I walk over cautiously and tap on the driver door window.
"Um, hi, is this for us?"
"For the kids, the kids?"
"Yes. That's us. Um. Ok. You are driving us to the Bronx?"
"Guess so."

Oh Geez. OK.
"Can I just have a look at the bus before I load families on?"

I step out to let him open the back door. I look into this alleged "Party Bus" - and it is exactly as the name implies. A semi circle of black leather couches, a stripper pole down the middle (yes, you read right), large screen TV's, and a huge stereo system. GULP.
"Um, sir? Are there no seat belts on this thing?"
I can feel my cool points dissolving before he even opens his mouth to answer.
I'm taking 15 children and 10 grown-ups on a bus across NYC without seat belts?

I emerge out of the darkness and as I do, I see 25 expectant sets of eyes on me, wondering what the results of my deliberations were. I smile (although fear is in my sunglass covered eyes) and give them a thumbs up. They cheer. Clearly they are way more excited than I am to have a potential lawsuit on my hands.

They hurriedly get on the bus while I explain to the bus driver that he needs to drive slower and more carefully than he has in his life and then tell all the families that bottoms stay on the (pimped out) black leather seats the ENTIRE time.

"What's the pole for?" I see the expectant eyes of a small child look up at me.
"Oh, that's just for friends who want to learn to be firemen - but we aren't going to practice that today. Have a seat...off we go!"

Party bus there, party bus back. Music blasting, all children safe.
I'll never look at party buses the same.