Prayers on a Bus

They may have deleted prayer from our schools, though I doubt that.  As long as there are Math tests, English tests and History exams there will be prayers in school. 

You can be sure there are still prayers on school buses during a Minnesota winter. Take December 18, 2025 for instance. Snow fell that day. The wind picked up. There was a forecast that talked about wind gusts of 50 mph. 

Eight buses pulled away from the Blooming Prairie Grade School that afternoon heading for the wide open prairies. At that moment I believe there were prayers ascending to God's throne room. Maybe they were subconscious prayers, maybe they were prayers muttered under the breath of each driver. 

Strobe lights flashing, head lights shining,  amber lights warning and red lights with stop signs telling people to STOP -- students are scurrying into their lanes. All the vehicles I met on the road  had their four ways on. 

Everything was going quite well considering the conditions of snow swirling around us and wind whistling in through the windows.

One little girl had the misfortune of having her hat blown off her head as she crossed the road in front of the bus. She looked startled and then very sad as her hat turned cartwheels and skimmed away. I watched,  helpless, but yelled back to the students still on the bus, "She lost her hat!" One of the high school  girls dropped her book bag on the seat and came to the front of the bus. 

"Where is it?" she asked peering out at the windswept skating rink. 

"It blew down that lane," I said, pointing to the spot where I last saw it tumble.

*Karen slipped and slid on the icy lane. All the rest of the students watched out the windows, groaning when the wind blew the little hat out of reach, then yelling triumphantly, "She got it!" 

By that time Cindy had already reached her house on the other side of the road, so we hung the hat up to dry and hoped she would  ride the bus the next day to get her lost hat.

 Bus 7 drives past Allen and Krysta's place. Just as I passed their house and trees the wind hit my bus with even more fury. This was a white out for sure. Zero visibility. I slowed the bus to a crawl, at the most the speed of walking.

Four girls were still on the bus. There is only a quarter mile between Krysta's house and my next stop. But I couldn't see the trees that marked that lane. Peering in front of me I imagined I could see the wind break off to the right. Imagination is not a comfortable guide for driving. Between gusts I could see a pole on the left side of the road. When there is good visibility I can see a line of poles marching down the side of the road. 

As the bus crept along I noticed a strip of grass at the side of the road. I was looking out of the window on the door of the bus. My goal was to keep moving slowly, keeping the bus in a parallel line to that strip of grass. I hoped no one else was on the road.

It seemed like a long time before I saw a smudge of dark trees and knew we had reached the next lane. This was Karen's stop. I thanked her again for rescuing the hat.

The blizzard swirled around  us. I followed the grass strip and stopped when even that disappeared. Kayla had her phone on Google maps which showed we had a long way to go before we reached her road. Inching along at a crawl and stopping to wait for the gusts of wind to slow down created some tension. 

"Are you crying?" Myra asked her little sister. 

"Who me? Of course not!" was Missy's speedy reply.

Teasing the girls, I told them they will be telling their children about driving home in a blizzard, following a grass strip at the edge of the road. 

I'm glad it was still daylight.

I'm praising Him for safety for all the drivers that day. Everyone made it safely back to Blooming Prairie. We are in the middle of a Minnesota winter for sure.

*Names have been changed

Making Memories

Just think how many pages I'd  have filled if I had kept track of all our anniversary outings. Forty-five years of memories ...

And so I will  begin.

This year I had three days off from driving bus smack dab in the middle of October. 

In Minnesota it's called MEA and all public schools take off two days. Blooming Prairie connects it with parent/teacher conferences and teacher in-service so we also get Wednesday off.

Ellis and I decided we would have an anniversary outing - celebrating forty-five years of marriage. Our anniversary is September 6th and we had gone out to eat closer to that day.  

This was going to be different. Ellis took vacation days off, we discussed where to go, then ran up against a snag. For awhile all we discovered was where we were not going.

 Decidedly not to MT where Ellis grew up because  that would be time spent with  siblings. 

Not an anniversary outing.  

Before you could say abracadabra  - poof! Ellis and Ivan would be in a vehicle and Karla and I would see the dust swirling behind them. We would all have a great time ...

.... but you get the picture. 

That's a trip for another time.

Then we talked about flying somewhere, but that couldn't work either because there was a wedding on Saturday. 

We basically stayed in our own back yard ...

                Northfield Minnesota 

I found a Scrabble game here. Ellis played one game of anagrams with me and two games of Dig. Using the Scrabble buttons each person takes 15 tiles, turns them over and makes a crossword puzzle with only those tiles. He said he would lose and it's no use to even start. But ... I got two vowels and all the rest consonants so he won the first game. 

           Dinner Wednesday evening 

We stopped to watch this small plane for a short time.

Ellis sold some silver, but I saw these cute salt and pepper shakers in the pile and begged for them. He teased me and asked if I'd give him $100.00  for them. It turned out they are worth about $8.00 in silver value,  but more than that in antique value. 

We browsed in more goodwill shops and found treasures. We also reserved an Airbnb for Thursday night while we ate our brunch at a bakery. (Nothing like waiting until the last minute)  Our girls asked if we had reservations or if we knew where we were going. We sheepishly said, "No, we don't know what we are doing yet, and we have no reservations made."  

Ellis had one spot he wanted to visit. That was Little Hill Berry Farm near Northfield. This is open to the public Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. 

Look up www.littlehillberryfarm.com and you'll find beautiful pictures. It is the middle of October and blue berries are still being picked! 

       We found our Airbnb in Faribault MN

                 Historic Hutch House 

We stayed in the guest house behind that impressive 1892 Queen Anne Victorian home. 

Why didn't we stay in our comfortable motel room in Northfield? We had a reasonable rate Wednesday evening, but the weekend rates begin Thursday night and the price is doubled. 

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park was near  by. We drove past to see all the fall colors. 

Our walks ended up being on the sidewalks of Northfield and Faribault as we went window shopping. Once, Ellis showed me a set of Harold Bell Wright books. "But we have all of those books at home in our bookshelves, " I protested.  

"Are you sure? Are they as nice as these?" 

"Nicer!" I said with confidence. 

"Okay, if you're sure."

 In my exclamations and examining of the books and finding out the price I laid my phone down on a table  ....

and forgot it. 

We went to the front and I paid for the items in my hand. Old fashioned handkerchiefs. I intend to make little dolls and mouses* by folding them in certain ways to entertain my grandchildren in church. Just in the same way I was entertained when I was little and completely bored in church  - long ago. 

We walked down the street. So many different shops, some buildings are empty, some have thriving businesses with people going in and out. Two blocks later we sat on a bench to rest and catch up on the next plan of action. I reached for my phone. I dug through my purse. "I can't find my phone!"

Ellis called my number and a stranger answered.  Sigh of relief! I walked back to the store and Ellis walked down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. We would meet at the used book store across from the antique shop. When I arrived a kind gentleman had my phone. He said someone brought it up to the checkout counter. Then he went across to the bookstore and asked if there was anyone there that had left their phone behind. (but we weren't there yet to claim it)

We need to package up some of our books and take them to this book store. Someone cleans the books that arrive, they sort through them and put them in their designated shelves. If they can't use them they take them to Salvation Army or Goodwill, moving them on down the line. Not automatically throwing them in a dumpster. That's nice to know.

Well, that almost sums up our travels for this time. In attempting to buy a wedding present for the young couple getting married on Saturday I failed to find them on Amazon where they are registered. In my old fashioned methods, I bought the bride something I would like, something I have used thousands of times in my kitchen in the past forty-five years.

Place mats, dish cloths, dish towels, and a two quart measuring bowl/mixing bowl with  a handle.  Made out of glass. My original one may have broken - I'm not sure. If it did I went straight back to a store that sells them and got another one. 

         Best wishes, Lindsay and Joshlyn! 

                            Happy  Days!

* mice, I meant mice, not mouses 😀

The Missing Car

This story has been writing itself over and over in my head ever since Memorial Day weekend. Ellis and I drove up north to attend a wedding reception. We arrived at the township hall. Ellis was going inside when I started walking to the pavilion where people were gathered. "That's not our party," Ellis protested. "They all look too old!" 

But it was our friends and family and we were gathered to celebrate Sheldon and Ellen and their new marriage. Once, long ago, we all went to a little church in Graceton, MN.

Jenni, Ladina, Trenda, Leah, Dawn, Ellen and Sheldon

As sometimes happens at get-togethers like this, memories start to float around in the back of ones mind. After awhile they must spill out in some form or another. 

Would this story work for a children’s meeting on a Sunday evening? Or sail away above their heads? I thought it was worth trying. 

There I was with a bench full of squirming boys and girls in front of me. I asked them if they were having fun - singing songs and coming to children's meeting. It seemed they were enjoying themselves. I gave them a couple verses - "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." and "A happy heart makes the face cheerful."

Then I began.

"I don't know you very well and I've never played games with you... are you a good sport when you win? How about when you lose?

Do you play tricks on each other at your house? Hide your sister's book? Do you ever have water fights on hot summer days? What happens if someone dumps a bucket of water on your head?"

At this, Jasper, my grandson, launched into a long, long story. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I tried to look intelligent and make murmuring sounds in the right places. 

When he stopped to catch his breath I began again. 

I'm going to tell you a story about my dad. He was your great- grandpa, Jasper.

When my dad was about the same age as some of your dads - he had a friend named Merv. Merv and his wife, Barb, had two children, Sheldon and Jenni. Our families played games and had picnics and went to church together. Dad and Merv worked together. And sometimes they pulled pranks on each other. 

One day my dad drove to town. He parked his car along the street and went inside the hardware store. After he bought the supplies he needed he walked outside and down the street toward his car. But -- the car was not there. He looked up the street this way and down the street that way. Where could that car be? It was nowhere in sight!

(About this time Jasper and Jackson started laughing. The disappearing car tickled them.)

Just when Dad was getting very worried he saw Merv sauntering up the street, whistling a happy tune. "What's the matter, Arnie? You look like you lost your best friend."

"No, I lost my car! I parked it right here and now it's gone!"

"Well, did you leave the keys in it?" Merv asked.

"Of course I left the keys in it," Dad sputtered. "This is Baudette, no one pulls the keys in this little town."

"Let's walk around the block and see if we can find it," Merv suggested. So the two friends walked around the corner, then around the next corner and there sat the car.

 Maybe there was a mischievous look on Merv's face because Dad suddenly realized that Merv had played a trick on him. He had recognized Dad's car and drove it around the block to hide it.

Now my dad could have gotten mad, but instead both men had a good laugh over this prank. 

That's what you can do when someone plays a trick on you. 

We practiced our verse one more time and that was the end.

*End of children's meeting *

The next day Krysta told me she was laughing when Jasper was talking. She figured parents of Jasper were the only ones who could decipher what he was saying. 

Krysta took the little ones to the library one summer day. When they came out to get in the car there was a bunch of teen agers splashing water around - a water fight was happening right before their eyes with ice cream buckets of water being dumped on heads. My words had triggered a memory for him.

Suddenly ...

I imagined Merv and Dad looking down from heaven at that little children's meeting and Merv saying to Dad, "Listen to your little grandson. He is quite the story teller - just like his Grandpa!"

Dad told the story about his missing car often enough that even my youngest sister,  Maria, remembers it. She often says she has no memories of living at Graceton. Maybe there are more stories hiding around the next corner. 

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