The Wheels on the Bus

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – The buses brought the kids today. Three loads of them were sitting on the capitol steps as I approached; the girls were singing in a chant “Elvis Presley, girls are messy,” hands clapping on the beat. I pushed through the revolving door of the Oregon state capitol and found myself in the rotunda just as a group of students approached the center, taking their place around the seal embedded in the floor. The tour guide stepped beside me, “You’re welcome to join us,” he said and so I stayed, intent on hearing the story of the seal. It shines like gold, but the guide explained that it was brass. He pointed to the elk, the sheaf, the plow, the axe. He talked about the covered ox-drawn wagon, symbolizing the pioneers that came to Oregon. Then he pointed to the ships – one coming towards land, the other sailing away. “One is an American ship,” he said, “and one is British. Do you know why the British ship is going away?” The children waited expectantly for the next line. » read more