I passed a small yellow school bus the other day that brought back memories to me. It looked like the little bus that took me to high school in Hedrick, Iowa. Most school buses today are large but not that one.
It was my first experience in riding a bus. As a town girl I had always walked even when it was cold, but now I lived on a farm and I found myself transported to and from high school in a warm bus by a handsome young bus driver. He wasn't much older than me and not only was he handsome, he was very nice. How sad I was when I discovered that he had a steady girlfriend.
But there were other benefits. One of those was the breathtaking scene we saw on the way home, especially in the fall. In order to get to the Hedrick Consolidated School we had to travel over a long, steep hill. Autumn brought out the beautiful Iowa colors and each afternoon that October we were treated to a majestic view as the bus came up that hill. There, like a giant bowl of fruit, in panoramic display before us, were watermelon reds, tangerine oranges and lemon yellows. At the bottom of that steep hill was a little creek. It was picturesque in any kind of weather. In the springtime the trees displayed dresses of lovely shades of green and in the winter they were outfitted in garments of frosty white.
When the landscape was a crystal colored ivory it was a beautiful picture but when it was covered with snow that hill seemed to grow and it got steep and scary as the school bus skidded on slippery roads.
One cold morning we were on our way to school when we came to the bridge over the stream. Suddenly the bus ice-skated right toward the bank of the creek. It teetered dangerously on the edge. Immediately the bus echoed with screams from frightened girls. I was sure we were going into the water.
But just in time the driver brought that little yellow bus to a stop in what seemed like the middle of the air. I sat there, holding my breath until he got out. He and the boys helped us as we climbed out of the bus. No one was hurt and by the time we got on solid ground again we were laughing with relief.
That was long before cell phones or beepers but we were able to walk to a neighboring house and telephone for help. The school sent another bus out to get us and a day of excitement had begun for us. We had such an interesting story to tell to our classmates.
Even though our hero bus driver seemed calm that day he must have got a little startled from the experience because after that when it was too icy he refused to come down that road. He may have been a hero but he was no fool.
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