What do you think of when you hear the words “party bus”? I’m pretty sure it isn’t a ride home from work on a public transit bus, but that’s what’s been on my mind this week.

Welcome to the 74^th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a decluttering challenge for the week. Along with party bus memories, this week’s edition looks at TLDR, spicy foods, self-transcendence, and pantry decluttering.

On my mind this week: Hop on the party bus!

The words “party bus” likely bring to mind images of wild bachelor or bachelorette parties involving lots of alcohol and crazy antics. But have you ever had a party on a public transit bus? I have!

Last week, an episode of the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast transported me back in time. As I listened to Wynne and Vicki chat with guest Eric Knudson, I smiled as Eric regaled us with stories of the interesting characters he’s seen, and experiences he’s had, when riding the bus.

Taking any form of public transit is always a fascinating study of human nature. Listening to Eric took me back to the early 1980s when I was working the afternoon shift in the Order Control department at Encyclopaedia Britannica in Cambridge Ontario. I didn’t own a car in those days, so I rode the bus home from work every night after finishing work at 9:00.

Cambridge isn’t that big of a place, so it wasn’t surprising to run into the same people when riding the bus. Every night as I waited for my transfer at the Galt bus station, a young guy named Ron would sit beside me on the bench. We chatted every night and, as the months passed by, we became friends. Often, Ron and I would be the only passengers on the number 4 bus at that time of night, so we also got to know the regular drivers on the route.

Birthday party on the bus

July came around, and so did my 19^th birthday. Imagine my surprise when Ron showed up on the bus with a birthday cake. Ron, driver Ed, and I enjoyed a piece of cake and some birthday cheer. I don’t remember if there were other passengers on the bus that night, but I have vivid memories of Ron, Ed, and the birthday cake.

Not long after that birthday, I transferred to the day shift and Ron drifted out of my life. I ran into him a couple of years later and he told me that bus driver Ed had passed away from a heart attack. I have no idea what became of Ron.

As I shared in an earlier post, I’ve celebrated my birthday in different ways and different locations. My 19^th birthday on the Cambridge Transit party bus stands out as the most unique of them all.

Reflecting on this makes me realize how much the world has changed in 40 years. Today, I wouldn’t feel safe waiting alone for a bus in downtown Galt at 9:30 p.m. And I’d be very unlikely to strike up a friendship with someone I met on a bus. Sad, isn’t it?

For more bus stories that will make you smile, give On the Bus with Eric Knudson a listen.

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Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• The nice thing about being away for your birthday is the celebrations continue when you get home. Colleen was home from PEI for a few days this week, so we had a belated birthday celebration on Sunday. Laura joined us from BC by video. Then on Monday, I received a lovely flower arrangement.
• On Friday, three of my high school friends and I started a new tradition—The ABCD Lunch. We’re working our way through the alphabet with each of us taking turns planning a lunch at a restaurant, city or town starting with our assigned letter. We kicked things off with lunch on the patio at Willibald Farm Distillery & Brewery in the small village of Ayr, Ontario. Imagine our surprise when a couple of the farm chickens joined us on the patio! It’s my turn next with the letter B.   
• Paris wowed us with the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games. Even the pouring rain didn’t take away from the celebration and the enthusiasm of the French people. It was fabulous watching the athletes from various countries arrive by boat along the Seine. And seeing Celine Dion sing again for the first time since her illness embodied all the hope and spirit of the Olympics. Bravo Paris!

Things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

TLDR – New acronym

I’m not a fan of acronyms because there too many of them to keep track of, and they can introduce confusion into our communication. For a couple of years now, I’ve been receiving Wealthsimple’s TLDR newsletter every Monday without giving a moment’s thought to what TLDR means.

When I heard the term TLDR on a podcast I was listening to this week, I decided to look it up. Turns out it stands for “Too long; Didn’t read.”

The fact that we have an acronym for this definitely speaks to our short attention spans these days.  

Eating spicy food can keep you cool

I’ve often wondered why people living in countries with hot climates eat a lot of spicy food. It turns out spicy food can actually cool you off. Eating spicy food raises your body temperature and makes you sweat. Sweat has a cooling effect—it’s your body’s natural air conditioning.

Bring on the hot sauce!

(Source: Earth911)

Beyond self-actualization to self-transcendence

No matter what you studied in college or university, you were probably introduced to Abraham Maslow and his famous hierarchy of needs at some point.

For years, we’ve viewed self-actualization as the pinnacle of the pyramid. This week, I learned that Maslow introduced the concept of self-transcendence as a new level in the hierarchy. Self-transcendence involves expanding beyond your own personal ego and needs, and considering the needs of others. It’s what drives people to seek deeper purpose, to get involved in altruistic endeavours, or to support causes bigger than themselves.   

(Source: Positive Psychology)

Thanks to my blogging pal Vicki Atkinson for making me aware of the 21^st century updates to Maslow’s theory in her post Inspire.

This week’s decluttering challenge – Pantry

In 2024, I’ve been revisiting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge I completed in 2021. This week’s challenge was the pantry, and I’m happy to report I decluttered 12 items. You can find the details, along with my tips and learnings, in this week’s decluttering post.

If you’d like to join the challenge, visit this post to download your free checklists and jump right in with this week’s task.

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I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.