Weird Memories

As I walk down Memory Lane, I am reminded of the time I hopped on a bus with Weird Al Yankovic. This was way back in the early 80's. My friends and I listened to the radio religiously, and as probably many of you 'old fogies' like me remember, Weird Al was pretty big back then. He seemed to have one hit after another, making fun of Michael Jackson with "Eat It" and "Fat", or Madonna with "Like a Surgeon". He was hilarious! I'm sure he's probably still around, but since I never listen to the radio anymore I am unaware. At one point he had a song called "Another One Rides the Bus", a spin-off of "Another One Bites the Dust", by Queen. This may have been one of his first big hits.

My friend Gabi and I heard of this radio-advertised publicity stunt in which Weird Al was going to ride a double decker bus around the grand downtown area of Iowa City, whilst playing his accordion and singing the song. We jumped on the boring old city bus and got down to the Old Capitol Mall as soon as we could, hoping to be one of the first lucky few to nab a seat. Somehow we made it on, and we actually got to sit up on the top, which was quite a thrill. Probably more of a thrill than hearing Weird Al play that accordion and stomp his foot down below. I have to laugh when I think of how silly that was--driving around a few blocks and then coming back to the mall just to get back out again. That's all there was to it! But hey. When Sullivan mentioned how he would love to ride in a double decker bus one day, I got to pull out this story about how on one glorious day of my youth, I rode the bus with Weird Al Yankovic. Not that he, or Vivian, would know who the heck he is. But I think it makes me sound kind of important.