Waiting at the bus stop in winter Left a whole lot to be desired By the time we finally got to school We surely didn't feel inspired The older kids helped the little ones Tried to shield them from the cold Seemed like we always had a kid hanging on After a while, it got pretty old But the little ones knew we loved them We were used to helping with their care There were seven of us kids at home Sure was hectic, I do declare We usually tried to make the best of it So we'd laugh and hop and skip and run Before long, frozen toes and fingertips Would put the kibosh on that fun Lena and I often used the time to sing There in the cold, we would harmonize Stopping now and then to blow their noses And hold on to the little kids' supplies We finally got a shelter to wait in A roughly build rickety old shack It got us out of the freezing rain But the winds blew through the cracks The school bus was a sight to see And seemed to always give us a thrill When it rounded the Roxie Taylor curve With good old B. Ward at the wheel But sometimes, it was overloaded So the driver had to pass us by Then we all had to take off walking In the snow on down to Phelps High I often think of those long gone years And the times we all waited there We made it through those Kentucky winters And came out none the worse for wear Kathleen McCoy Eldridge© March 8, 2009 All Rights Reserved

Thank you John for the wonderful photo!