"deathriding" the new rock opera sensation!

there was a man down in mexico
he was deathriding.
he had a picture of mother mary
and axl rose
he was deathriding.

deathriding
2001

it was once my rule of thumb that any bus driver of mexico worth his salt, would have an altar to mary on their dashboard. often i'd find myself in the midst of a religious conversion whilst travelling at breakneck speeds down dirt roads in the middle of the night.
hence, it should have been a tip-off on my last excursion yesterday from the ceaseless den of palenque to the town of san cristobal in the southern state of chiappas. instead of our mother, there were two baby bluebunnies dangling from the rearview and playboy foot pedals. our driver as i affectionately dubbed "leadfoot" led a captive audience on a 5 hour ride through the twisty mountain roads of chiappas. one french girl at the front got sick en route, as if that weren't a sort of message to the driver. i nearly got sick several times, but opted for deep breathing.
it didn't help that the previous week that a busload of 72 died in veracruz in a freak accident after 10 hours of driving. things like that always have a way of happening right before my travels, just to keep you on edge.
the highlight of the adventure came when i had to heed nature's call. what with all the bouncing about in the w.c., i did a fair job of wetting everything in sight. at one point the door came open and i let out a whoaa! to the bemusement of the fellow passengers.
as luck would have it, another tourist bus managed to go off roading, which tied up traffic both ways on the expressway. the passengers ambled about on the roadside whilst the towing crew went about their business over the next hour.
as miss c concurred, it wasn't likely that the driver would use a bus w.c., and there he was at the end of our harrowing experience, relieving himself in the depot latrine. i had a flash of slamming his head between the swinging door of the gents, but thought better of such a plan of action.
during my last trip to mexico, i was considering writing a rock opera about the busdrivers of mexico, perhaps calling it "deathriding". i only got as far as penning one song, but being here has given me renewed inspiration.
there comes a point where you stop worrying and resign yourself to the fates. some people get off on living on the edge, although i cannot count myself amongst those lot. of course i am glad to be alive, i sometimes wish there were other ways to be appreciative without having to nearly lose it all.