05/29/2026
🚌 A Prayer, a Route, and One Last Ride 💛
Pam Harrelson drives Bus 25 for the Gentry School District, a bus dubbed “the caterpillar” by her students because its wide front mirrors resemble the insect’s long antennae.
Just before 3 p.m. Thursday, she steps aboard and adjusts her chair just right, placing her mirrors into their proper positions. She says a prayer, then turns the key.
She prays for safety for the enthusiastic students who are about to board and for the path she’s about to travel. That prayer is special to her as she embarks on a journey that’s important to the children on the bus, as well as their families.
She hears a familiar voice on the radio — it’s Robert “Doc” Savage who leads Gentry’s transportation department, cracking a joke in the direction of Bus 25, knowing Pam could use a laugh today.
Most of her kids probably don’t know what she does before she picks them up at their schools. The bus is in good condition. Her mind and heart are prepared. She’s preparing for safety. She’s preparing for her route. She’s preparing for the unexpected.
But today is different.
She’s also preparing for her last ride.
After 28 years driving a bus for Gentry Public Schools and 33 years working for the district, Mrs. Pam is retiring, not just from her bus driving duties, but also from her position as a bookkeeper in the district administration office. She’s experienced the full range of emotions through the years — not every day as a school bus driver is roses and rainbows — but she has felt a purpose each day as she watched students maneuver the emotional ups and downs before and after school. Things only a bus driver probably ever sees.
“They’re my kids,” Pam says. “I’m the first person they see in the morning going to school and the last person they see going home after their day is over. I think of them as my kids and my grandkids because I care about them. I want them to be safe, and that’s why I’ve done what I’ve done.”
A school bus driver is first and foremost focused on safety, but it’s also no secret that a bus driver is part peacemaker, disciplinarian, school mom and listening ear. She knows precisely the name of each student, where their stop is and even some of their challenges.
One stop lasts a minute or two longer than the others. The young girl who gets off there, no older than seven or eight, has to walk half a block to her house, and Pam watches carefully until the girl reaches her front door.
On this particular day, her students are especially enthusiastic, being the last day of school and all. Some are moving up to a new school next year and just had to say goodbye to a teacher they are attached to but don’t know when they will see again. She pays special attention to a group of girls fighting back tears over the emotional day and, while waiting for others to join the bus, pauses to offer a smile and an encouraging word. Her own emotions are put on hold so she can care for others.
More than an hour later the last of her kids are dropped off. Everyone is safe. Everyone is home.
It’s hard for her to describe how she’s feeling. Happy? Nostalgic? At peace? Sad?
After thinking for a few moments, she arrives at the word: “Emotional.”
“It’s emotional because I like my kids. I really like my kids, so that’s probably what I’m feeling the most,” she says. “They’re just good kids. I’ve had some really good families on my bus through the years, and I’m going to miss that.”
She pulls into the bus garage and the report over the radio is that Pam has completed her final ride. Another bus driver sends a message across the radio:
“Thank you for everything, Bus 25. We’ll miss you.”
She can’t fight the tears this time, biting her lip while she walks to the back of her bus to ensure no child has been left behind. She then grabs a broom and sweeps the trash left behind, collecting it into a bag — no shortcuts, even on her last day.
She sits back in her seat and turns off the ignition.
A job well done and a career faithfully completed.
