Bus Driver, The

Every day people ride buses to places near and far. We must first buy a ticket. George and his father are buying their tickets now. They are just in time for our bus is coming into the station. It is big and powerful. Mr. Fisher drives our bus. He has driven buses for many years. This man tells when the bus is ready. He talks through the loudspeaker. 7:30 coach for Somerville, Easton, Harrisburg, Bedford, Pittsburgh, and the West. Time to go. Many people are going with us. The porter puts away our baggage in a space under the seats. Mr. Fisher takes George's ticket. Inside, the passengers are finding their seats. George likes to sit in front so he can watch the driver. Before Mr. Fisher starts the bus, he closes the door and starts the motor. Then he backs the bus away. Out of the station we go and on our way. Right on time, too. Mr. Fisher drives carefully in crowded city streets, watching out for cars and people. He switches a signal. A signal to warn drivers behind him that he wants to make a turn. One last look at the tall buildings as we leave the city behind. Soon we are out on the open highway. A highway that is like a river flowing from city to city. Cars, buses, and trucks roll over it day and night. George likes to see the big trucks like these hauling all kinds of goods to factories and stores. But Mr. Fisher keeps his eyes on the road. Watching the road and the other cars all the time. A traffic light stops us. We will lose a minute or two here and Mr. Fisher has to keep track of the time. 9:56. He's still on schedule. But now the stop light is changing to go. He shifts gears. He moves ahead quickly. He still has many miles of driving to do. He knows just how fast to go on each part of the road to keep on time and to drive safely. Now watch this driver coming out of a side road. Mr. Fisher has to look out for all kinds of careless drivers on the highway. He sees in a big mirror cars coming from behind. Here comes a car past now. Here comes another. Mr. Fisher always drives safely and never passes another car when he can't see the road ahead. Now we are riding through a fine farm country. Look there, farm boys and girls wishing the driver good luck as we roll onward. A train is coming. We need not stop for trains. Our highway goes under the railroad through this underpass. As our bus goes on, the passengers are having a pleasant time. Some watch the scenery. Others read. While others find napping the most pleasant way to travel. Look ahead, there's a car stalled on the highway. Our driver puts on the brake. And he turns out carefully. The driver must be ready to act quickly. At last, we are coming into another city. The bus turns into a station much like the one from which we started. Here are some the passengers are leaving us. This is the end of the trip for Mr. Fisher, too. And so George tells him goodbye. A new driver, Mr. Thompson, will take us on from here. Mr. Fisher turns over the tickets. Everything in order? Mr. Thompson is ready to go to work. Soon we are leaving the city on the second part of our trip. We cross a broad, beautiful river. Out on the road, Mr. Thompson settles to his work. In a little while we reach the entrance to a great superhighway. On this wide superhighway, Mr. Thompson can drive more safely and more easily. And passengers can ride more comfortably, too. Cars that cross this highway have to use bridges overhead, like this one. Wide, separate lanes and well-built curves mean faster, safer driving. We are nearing a mountain ridge. It is a high wall across our path, but we plunge into this tunnel and right through the mountain. Out on the other side and down the mountain side into the valley beyond. Now we come to a place where the bus stops to give us a short rest. A place to stretch our legs and to eat lunch. A nice lunch room by the side of the highway. While George and his father and the other passengers have lunch, Mr. Thompson makes sure that big motor plenty of water and oil. In a little while we are on our way again. The passengers settle down for the last hours of the trip. Mile after mile goes by as Mr. Thompson drives on. Now we cross the valley, a valley of steel mills and factories. We're nearing the end of our long ride. Mr. Thompson's work for the day is almost over. The passengers get ready to leave the bus. Hats and coats go on. Journey's end. Mr. Thompson has driven another long bus trip safely and on time. Tomorrow, he will drive back over the same road. Now, it's goodbye to Mr. Thompson and goodbye to George. Let's hope we'll take a bus trip together again very soon.