The bus ride

Jeffrey, being neither psychic nor clairvoyant, had no idea how this bus ride would end.  So boarding the bus with 47 other passengers seemed an innocuous enough event. But little did he know.

One hour into the ride (through the hills, on the way to Yakima), Jeffrey noticed that the driver appeared to be in a state of panic and the overall speed of the bus was rapidly increasing.  At almost the same moment, a mild buzz of chatter arose within the bus, as the other passengers seemed to notice the change of speed.

Suddenly, a middle aged, slightly overweight, balding man stood up and shouted, "I have a plan.  We need someone else to drive!" And with that he shoved the bus driver out the window and took over driving.  Jeffrey watched as the driver rolled to the edge of the road, into the ditch and finally to a stop.  The man stood up and watched the bus careen down the road.

The bus continued its acceleration.  After a few moments, a second man, this one older still and balder, shouted, "This isn't working," and he jerked the middle age man from the driver seat and took over the responsibility.  After four or five changes of driver, with the same, predictable results, a few people hurled themselves from the bus, hoping for the best.  Jeffrey watched each one, in turn, as they hit the pavement and rolled to a stop.  Some rose to their feet and toddled off, back towards town, others lay motionless.  Jeffrey was uncertain of their final state.

Finally, Jeffrey took his turn at the wheel, just moments before the bus propelled off of a cliff, near the rounding of a corner.  As the tires left the pavement, Jeffrey thought, "I wonder if we could have tried something different."