A Good Old Fashioned Love Story

Singles bars.  Speed dating.  Match.com.  There are just so many ways to find that perfect someone these days.  But, nothing can take the place of finding your soul mate the good old fashioned way: on a Greyhound bus. 

That's what happened to Donna Bellamy.  She is a 55 year old driver, originally from Louisiana.  She had spent most of her life in the South.  But, after an unfulfilling decade in the insurance business, she saw an opportunity with Greyhound.  She was trained about 18 years ago in Dallas, Texas, to be a driver.  That's where she met her current husband, Tom. 

"Our anniversary is is March 14, 1992.  That's the two year anniversary of Tom being hired as a driver.  So, he has no excuse to forget our anniversary", she told me.

"You must be the only Greyhound drivers in America that are married to each other" I remarked to her.  "Well, there are a few that I know of, but there's not many.  It's hard.  We sometimes don't see each other for days on end.  It's nice now.  We're both in St. Louis and we've got some pretty good seniority.  I do the Columbus to St. Louis run and Tom does the Nashville to St. Louis run.  It works out pretty well."

Donna gets it.  She views her job as a calling.  "I love my passengers", she explained to me.  "You know, it's hard to ride the bus.  I understand that.  I've done it.  These people deserve to be treated with respect.  I've found that I get back what I give out.  If I speak to them in a calm, inviting way, they will do anything for me.  They've got my back."

Donna's right.  I've seen harsh drivers barking at passengers.  I've seen drivers that are distant, in their own world, intent on only getting the bus from here to there, but not really viewing their mission as being any more than that.  Donna was different.  She cares about her passengers.  "I've been doing this almost twenty years and I can count on one hand the number of times that I've had people give me grief to the point that I've had to do something about it.  That's not bad.  It's better than most jobs.  Just treat people how you want to be treated" she told me. 

For the five hours between Indianapolis and St. Louis, Donna told me many a story.  I'll save them for the book.  But, I will share that Donna is special.  She's like a high school teacher that keeps after it year after year because they truly enjoy it.  I always loved teachers like that.  They never seemed beat down.

"Have you ever been to the Greyhound museum?" I asked Donna.  "Oh yeah.  Tom and I went up there a few years ago on vacation.  It's in Hibbing, Minnesota", she told me.  "Well, Donna, I was wanting to go, but in a twist of irony, the Greyhound bus doesn't run to Hibbing", I complained.  "I'll tell you what you need to do.  Just take the Greyhound to Minneapolis and then can you rent you a car?"  "Sure I can, but isn't it pretty far from Minneapolis?"  She explained, "Not really.  You just go up there and it's not bad.  It's only like 3,4,5 hours up to Hibbing."  In the world of the bus driver, 3-5 hours is considered a nice afternoon drive.  For the rest of us, it's a grueling distance we might travel to visit grandma.

But I'm headed to Minneapolis.  How can I not go to the Greyhound museum?  Am I the only one surprised that there is a Greyhound museum? 

Donna told me that she and Tom took some of their old driver's uniforms up the museum.  "You know, the kind with the legs that flared out and the boots that come up to your knees" she described.  "You mean like astronaut uniforms?" I inquired.  "No, more like German soldier outfits. 

"They also have the poster with me in it on display up there.  In the 90's, I couldn't go to a Greyhound station in the country without seeing my face plastered everywhere.  That poster was all over the place for like 2,3 years...But, it was a lot of fun.  If anyone tells you that modeling isn't hard work, they don't know what they're talking about.  I had to smile for about 8 hours straight.  But, it was a lot of fun."

So, I can wait to make it to Hibbing.  I saw that they are open from 9-5, except on Sundays, from May to September.