The Yellow Harvey Bus

Life has a way of teaching us lessons, or perhaps, more correctly, God has a way of teaching us lessons as we wend our way through life.

The Harvey Bus Company was a small school bus company designed to meet the needs of children with special needs. Among those that took the bus were deaf or hearing impaired children.

I was in first grade at the time, so I really knew nothing about what was going on. The other kids made fun of the children in the bus and so I mimicked the other kids and did the same. The "R" word was one of the words I heard and used but the most common word and seemingly, the most hurtful word was "Harvey".

To be called a Harvey was the most hurtful word of all and it was a word I tossed around as carelessly and cruelly as anyone.

In the second grade the teacher began to notice a problem with me. At first they thought I was not paying attention, then they thought I might have a learning disability but at some point, after discussing it with my parents, they determined that I had a hearing problem.

I can still remember taking all the hearing tests (at UCLA) and the driving back and forth and my parents concerns.

It was during the middle of the school year in second grade when I was pulled from my school, Rancho Santa Gertrudis, and sent to a school that had a program for the deaf and hard of hearing. It was decided that I would spend half the day in the deaf class and the other half in regular class.

I was told that I would be picked up at home in the mornings by the small Harvey bus and driven to school. I was horrified to say the least.

The first day was a culture shock for me. Many of the other students were at different stages of learning development. Some could not communicate and others were uncontrollable.

When it was time to go to the "regular class", I was told I would have to wear one of the hearing aids provided by the school during school hours. It was the size of a shoebox with a handle and several dials with a long cord attached to what looked like oversized ear protectors. This was how I was I introduced to my new class.

Back to the bus: On a daily basis I, along with all the other students had to endure all the name calling as we got off the bus in the morning and again, in the afternoon, when we had to get back on to go home. I was officially a Harvey.

It was like this for a few years until someone made the decision that I would be better suited in a regular curriculum in my district but with a once a week speech therapy class provided by a mobile speech therapist.

It was a humbling experience, to say the least but I remember those years and the students, in both classes, fondly. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

Did I learn any lessons? Yes but probably not right away. Growing up is a long painstaking process but I like to think that I eventually did learn, especially empathy and respect for those that might, on the surface, seem different but in truth, are not so different.