I tip my hat to an unforgettable lady

Her name was Edith Borngeeser. It is a name I can never forget.
I never called her “Mrs. B.” I  always called her Mrs.  Borngeeser. She drove me to school from the time I was in kindergarten until I was old enough to cross busy Newbridge Road in North Bellmore and take my bicycle to Martin Avenue School.

Mrs. Borngeeser loved to sing songs while driving to school. Some were probably not the most appropriate for my age, but it sure was fun. I remember one of her favorites was “The Dummy,” which began, “I’ll take the legs from some old table and the arms from some old chair.” I joined in on the chorus, “I’ll get more loving from that dumb-dumb dummy than I ever got from you.”

Many years later, I found out it was an actual song and that it was recorded by Louis Armstrong! Another sing-along I recall was a more conventional one, “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” Those tunes are indelibly etched in my memory.

As much fun as it was being driven by Mrs. Borngeeser, she did not put up with any nonsense. No silly behavior was tolerated, and she was always treated with respect. She could rein you in if you were getting unruly with a backward glance or by abruptly ending a song in progress and beginning again only when decorum was restored.

With the freedom to finally ride my bike to school, thoughts of Mrs. Borngeeser naturally began to fade. Fade, that is, but not forgotten. She left quite an impression. And although it has been many years since I rode along with Edith Borngeeser, I confess that I have occasionally wondered what became of her.

Mrs. Borngeeser was not a family friend or a member of a shared carpool. She was my school bus driver.

She drove me and probably 30 to 40 other children to school every day, in all kinds of weather. I boarded the bus in Merrick, on Grace Avenue, not very far down Woodbine Avenue, from the street where I lived. I remember her greeting parents warmly at each stop along the way. We always arrived safely at our destination, and what was sung on the bus remained on the bus.

Now, decades later, I wonder if my own children, or my grandson who recently began driving himself to high school, in a car not on a bicycle, had any experiences like mine. Were there any Mrs. Borngeesers at the wheel on their trips to school, keeping passengers engaged and well-behaved by leading them in song?

The school year is now in full swing, and school buses are a common sight, transporting thousands of children across Long Island to and from schools in their communities.

A school bus driver is surely one of the more noble and unsung (pun intended) occupations in our country. Each day, parents take an enormous leap of faith and entrust the safety of their children to school bus drivers. After all, what could be more important than the well-being of our children?

Edith Borngeeser retired after 28 years behind the wheel. She was beloved by children and parents alike. Thank you, Mrs. Borngeeser.

 Reader Victor Caliman lives in Kings Park.