I saw a post that had a picture of an old school bus overgrown with vines. The following quote was with the picture post….
“We’re going to sit here until all of you settle down, and I don’t care how long it takes!”
I had to laugh when I saw that because it meant something to me. It brought to memory my school bus driver Mrs Parker, and an experience I have remembered for all my life since.
Each school morning by 6:30am or so I would be ready to get on the school bus. Watching out my front living room window, I could see when the big yellow bus was coming. As soon as I was coming out the front door, the big bus stopped and the double doors would squeak open. I would step up the two big steps into the bus and look at Mrs Parker. I was kind of scared of her. I didn’t know if she would say anything or not. She would sometimes say something quick like “good morning “ but not always. As soon as I started down the aisle, Mrs Parker would zoom on towards the next bus stop. I would hold onto seats until I sat down . She was a no-nonsense kind of person. I don’t remember that she ever smiled, but I didn’t think of her as mean; just grumpy. I’m sure she just felt the need to keep order on the bus. When there’s around 40 or so children on one bus you can imagine how it could be.
The morning rides to school were usually quiet with just some talking going on. Mrs Parker pulled the bus up to the curb at school to let us off and the day at school started. At 3pm the bus would be waiting to pick us up and then the route was started to take us all home. It just wasn’t quiet like the morning ride.
Someone would do something that Mrs Parker felt she needed to yell about. I could see her stern eyes looking into the rear view mirror. “Boys!!! Put the paper airplanes away!!!” The boys put the planes away but then they would tease each other and cause a ruckus until …….all of a sudden our school bus pulled over to a sudden stop! Mrs Parker yelled “ We are going to sit here until you settle down and I don’t care how long it takes!!” She meant that too! Sometimes she stood up and reprimanded whoever was responsible for the chaos and made one of the wild ones sit on the front seat. Eventually, we’d be on our way again but with a quieter bus ride. I never wanted to get on Mrs Parker’s bad side.
I rode on Mrs Parker’s bus for several years. Even into high school. I lived in a community called Browntown and Mrs Parker would pick up all the children going to the same school. Some were my cousins and some were friends and some I really didn’t know. For some reason Mrs Parker seemed to be kind of nice to me. She even seemed to start smiling at me just a little. That is until the last day of school in 9th grade.
That last day of school was a good day. Summer was here and I looked forward to my summer break. Most everyone had classmates and friends to say goodbye to. I enjoyed telling my friends goodbye and we promised we’d see each other in the next school year. Some students brought shaving cream to school to use for pranks. They would spray each other or spray lockers, door knobs, etc. One girl that I knew came up to me and asked if I’d take the shaving cream home that she brought. I mentioned that she should just throw it away but, for some reason, she thought she would get in trouble. I reluctantly took it and put it in my backpack. I figured I’d throw it away at home or give it to my dad (like he would really want someone else’s used shaving cream!🫣). I felt like I shouldn’t take it, but I ignored those feelings and kept it in my backpack.
Mrs Parker’s bus was waiting outside with the big double doors open. Students were saying their last goodbyes and getting on their bus to go home. I got on my bus and sat down. I tried to sit near one of my friends as much as possible. I didn’t like being near the trouble makers. Somehow, someone saw that there was shaving cream in my backpack. The word got over to one of the trouble makers. Then he was asking me for the shaving cream, like he was a friend of mine. I was kind of apprehensive to give it to him but also glad to get rid of it. The boy said he was going to take it home. I gave it to him. I was horrified to see what this boy chose to do with the shaving cream…..
There was a special needs boy on our bus, Donnie, who was the sweetest! He never did anything to anyone and the boy I gave the shaving cream to sprayed it all over Donnie’s face! I was shocked and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Donnie’s face was covered in shaving cream and he was crying. Mrs Parker, seeing the commotion, stopped the bus and started hollering at the boys. Somebody must have told her I brought the shaving cream. She hollered at me saying, “ You have always been so good! And now this!!” I blinked back my tears….. I would have never intentionally hurt Donnie. I was still shocked and couldn’t say anything. I knew there was no point in trying to say anything.
After that incident I could hardly try to talk to Mrs Parker. I was so embarrassed by what happened and felt bad about but. However, one day, several years later, Ted and I were at a funeral at the little Baptist church I went to as a girl. Mrs Parker did talk to us there. Could it be she seemed nice? Yes she was! I don’t remember the conversation except for what she last said…….”Tanya, you were always such a good student on my bus except for that last day of school!!! I couldn’t understand what got into you!!”
My mouth couldn’t say anything and that was the last I ever got to see Mrs Parker.
Strangely enough, I look back to those times as good for me. I learned somewhere along the way to sometimes speak up if I need to. More importantly, to listen to my feelings or conscience and not do something that I’m not comfortable with. And also to realize some people may be grumpy because they are having a hard day. 😊
No comments:
Post a Comment