读报：Chance remark leads to labor of love

I read the article: Pennridge bus driver writes a book, Chance remark leads to labor of love. Written by Lisa DeAngelis, on

Bucks County Herald. Feb. 22, 2024, C5, “It’s a living.” Barbara gave me the newspaper.

1) Maria Hough, a school bus 35 feet long and 9 feet wide filled with children. She has been doing it for 22 years.

Maria’s family moves to Solebury in 1981 to accommodate her father’s job. She graduated from New Hope Solebury high school in 1982.

She married Hal in 1987 and became mother to his two young children. Maria to be a stay-at-home mother.

A chance remark by her blacksmith that he thought driving a school bus would be a good fit for her started Maria down her present career path. And he was also a driver for Pennridge School District. A Commercial Drivers License and job application soon followed.

Today, Maria is loved by the children who ride her bus, their parents. School Superintendent Angelo Berrios says: “ her presence brightens the journey for every child she transports.

I ask Maria how she manages to establish such great rapport with students. “ The secret is to engage,” she says. “ I always say hello and goodbye even when it’s not reciprocated. I know all my students’ names.”

Maria authored “ Outside My School Bus Window,” a Story in words and pictures about the seasonal sights she saw along her route during the school year. “It’s based on conversations and observations over a two-years period. The book was a labor of love.”

“ I love driving a bus,” Maria tells me. “ I’m exceedingly grateful for the positive work environment.”

2) I think: (A) Pennridge School District is very close to the building where I live, and I used to go there for a walk. There are many school buses picking up and dropping off students every morning and afternoon, but there are very few students sitting on each bus, which I think is a great waste. When I was in middle school, my classmates and I all walked. Some students lived far away rode bicycles instead of school buses. This was also a form of exercise for students.

(B) It is very happy for a person to be able to do the job they love. Nowadays, many young people in China are unemployed.