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The Battalion
LIFESTYLES
Monday, October 23,1989
Lifestyles Editor Dean Sueltenfuss 845-3313
ACTION
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Aggie shuttle bus drivers reveal
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Photo by Scott D. Wearc;
Laura McNamara, a student bus driver, drives one of the off-campus shuttle buses on the “Elephant Walk” route.
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Of The Battalion Staff
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Every morning while I’m on my way to class, I
hear the growls and roars of the maroon and
white monsters that make up the Texas A&M bus
system as they rush past.
And it seems no matter how early it is or how
rotten the weather is, the drivers are always in a
my-what-a-wonderful-morning mood.
It made me wonder. Who are these pre-dawn
perky people who drive the bellowing bus beasts,
and why do they do it?
I cornered a couple of drivers and found out
everything I ever wanted to know about the
A&M bus system. Every driver I talked to was
more than willing to help.
“Ever since I was a freshman and started rid
ing the shuttle bus, I wanted to be a bus driver,”
Laura McNamara, a junior industrial distribu
tion major, said. “They always looked like they
were having so much fun.”
McNamara, now a bus driver, said the job is
just as much fun as she thought it would be. Not
only are the drivers friendly, but bus operations
is understanding and helpful when drivers need
a day off either to study or because they are ill.
It’s fun because of all the people there are to
meet, she said. This is easy to understand when
you know that the A&M buses give 24,782 rides a
day.
McNamara, who has been driving since Au
gust, at first had trouble explaining to her
mother her decision to become a bus driver.
When she got the job as a driver, she called home
and excitedly told her mother about it. “I’m
gonna be a bus driver! I’m gonna be a bus driv
er!,” she said.
Steven Carlson, a senior engineering technol
ogy major, said he likes the job because he gets to
meet a lot of people and the pay is pretty good.
When people who obviously have had a really
lousy day get on the bus, Carlson enjoys trying to
cheer them up. He said people often start feeling
better after he has talked to them.
Carlson also said he likes the feeling of being
in control of a large vehicle such as a bus, whichis
why he likes to drive the larger off-campus buses
But driving buses isn’t all fun and games. Ma
neuvering such a large vehicle through crowded
campus streets isn’t an easy job. McNamara said
the most dangerous place is the Ireland Streel
bus stop when classes are being let out. Pedestri I
ans casually step in front of a bus assuming it will
stop for them until they are out of the way, ski
said.
McNamara recalls one incident duringwhicha
cyclist tried to squeeze between her stopped bus
and a parked truck. The rider smacked his head
hard into the bus’s side mirror, moving it quite a
bit (a feat not easily done). She said he just kept
riding, probably because he was too embarassed
to stop.
According to Daniel McRedmond, ajuniorii
nance major and bus driver, people on bikes
See Bus/Page 15
Group offers alternative to television
’magination Station uses
entertainment to teach
COLLEGE STATION
504 Harvey Road
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By James A. Johnson
Of The Battalion Staff
Although many forms of enter
tainment such as television and vi
deo games often do little to help chil
dren become more creative, there is
an organization in Bryan-College
Station that entertains youngsters
while teaching them about the un
limited possibilities of the imagina
tion.
’magination Station, a non-profit
organization that utilizes an ensem
ble approach for casting its plays, is
dedicated to producing plays for
children of the Bryan-College Sta
tion area. Actors audition at the be
ginning of each annual season to be
come a part of the troupe. Each play
is then cast from members of the
troupe.
Performing such memorable
plays as “Charlotte’s Web” and
“Hansel and Gretel,” the group re
lies on participants from all areas of
the community.
Diane Florshuetz, a business
owner in Bryan-College Station, said
she enjoys using her talents for the
children’s benefit.
“It allows everyone to use their
creativity,” Florshuetz explained.
“The children are able to create and
interpret what they see in the per
formances. Each child may interpret
different situations in entirely dif
ferent ways.”
In “Charlotte’s Web,” Florshuetz
said the children get to play the part
of trees, helping them to understand
the importance of participation and
teamwork.
Although the suybject of death is
presented in the play, it is not done
so in a tragic way. Instead, children
see the subject from a sympathetic
view as well.
In plays like “Charlotte’s Web,”
Florshuetz said the actors also can
suggest ways of dealing with death.
’magination Station is beginning
its third season and was started by
nine friends who saw the need for a
children’s theater workshop in the
Bryan-College Station community.
Because of the huge success of its
first show three years ago, the Sta
tion has grown into an 18-member
organization.
Cast members communicate a
sense of family and familiarity which
they develop from working with
each other. The actors use a direct
approach to communicate with their
audience members, performing
each play in close proximity by hav
ing the children sit on the floor near
the stage area.
Pamela Wiley, the group’s public
ity chairman, said today’s society
doesn’t expose children to the world
of make-believe as often as it should.
“We’re not like Mister Rogers or
some cartoons,” Wiley said, smiling.
“That stuff is sick.”
In its own way, ’magination Sta
tion teaches children about how
even the simplest things can provide
fun.
“Our productions let youngsters
see what they can do in their own
room and in their own backyard,”
Wiley said.
To stir the children’s imagination,
expensive props or costumes are rar
ely used. Instead, the group leaves
such imagery to each child’s mind.
“They see everything that’s going
on,” Wiley said. “We don’t use elab
orate sets. We keep everything very
simple.” She said that this allows the
children to understand that they can
make objects and places whatever
they want them to be.
Another purpose of the group’s
See Station/Page 15
Photo by Kathy
’magination Station member Dennis Busch plays the part of
Wilbur in a production of “Charlotte’s Web.” About 150 par
ents and children saw the production Saturday afternoon at
Jane Long Jr. High School.