MICHAEL J. LACIVITA Sailor, move to the front of the bus

During my teen years in the 1930s and '40s, my sole mode of transportation was the municipal bus. My buddies and I looked forward to Saturday night bus rides. It was our no-cost recreation.
My father bought a weekly pass for a dollar and rode the bus to work. Living on North Jackson Street on Youngstown's East Side, he rode the 2-Oak or 3-Lincoln buses, to the corner of Oak and Albert streets. He then transferred to the Albert Street bus line, which brought him to work at Truscon Steel. Cash paying passengers were issued a paper transfer or metal token as a transfer.
The bus pass got a workout on Saturday night. We rode the different bus routes all over the city, being certain to arrive home before the pass expired at midnight. I always sat in the back of the bus, from years of habit. The death of Rosa Parks, the celebrated civil rights leader, brought back to me one of my life's memorable experiences.
Memorable bus ride
I was stationed aboard the amphibious ship U.S.S. LST 494 in 1943 during World War II, still a teenager. We anchored in Mobile, Ala., on our way to the port of New Orleans. An East High School friend was stationed at an air base in Mobile, so I decided to visit him on a Liberty Pass.
I boarded a municipal bus and preceded to sit in the back of the bus. The bus did not move.
The bus driver shouted, "Sailor, I am not moving this bus until you come up to the front and sit behind me." I did not understand the significance of his command at that time. So I moved to the front of the bus and he then moved the bus.
Quite a revealing experience for a back-seat riding kid from the North, whose two best friends in elementary school were black.
X Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree and an inductee into The Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.