The family that rides the bus together . . .

The No. 82 pulled into the Watt and Wal-Mart stop as the No. 84 was pulling away. I called the wife on her cell phone.

"Tag, you're it," I said.

Today, I had a dentist appointment at 8:30 a.m., which meant the wife and I would be on the bus at the same time, all be it different buses.

This morning, the kid took the wife to here stop and then drove to school. Meanwhile, I packed my stuff and put the dog out. I walked down the street to my stop. I had cut it close. The bus arrived less than a minute later.

From Watt until Morse and Arden Way, we traveled together on our separate buses.

The wife would love to take the No. 82 and transfer to the No. 84 in the morning, but the schedule -- both in the morning and on the way home -- has the buses running in the wrong order. Recently, however, we've discovered that on Monday and Tuesday, the wife can skip the reliably unreliable bus connection at Starfire and continue down light rail to 65th Street. Then I can leave work shortly after 6 p.m. and meet her at 65th. Together, we then take the No. 82 home.

The family that rides the bus together . . .