Traverse City’s Bill Parrish chronicles humorous tales of driving a school bus in new book, ‘Adventures of Mr. Bill’ Bill Parrish came to Traverse City to retire but ended up as a Traverse City Area Schools bus driver and writing a humorous book about it, ''Adventures of Mr. Bill.'' Traverse City student, age 9, to his school bus driver: “Do you make much money driving a bus?” Driver: “No, the job pays very little.” Student: “Oh…did you get good grades in school?” Driver: “Yes, I did.” Student: “Oh…did you go to college?” Driver: “Yes, I did.” Student: “Then why don’t you get a real job?!!!” Welcome to “Adventures of Mr. Bill,” a book of humorous tales from the life of Traverse City school bus driver Bill Parrish. The former business executive turned school bus driver chuckles recalling this recent exchange with the student. “Blindsided by a 9-year-old. All I could do was laugh.” For the record, Parrish, 66, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in accounting from Southern Illinois University. After 30 years in retail management and another 11 as a business consultant, he and his wife, Lynn, retired to the quiet life in Traverse City some five years ago. His job journey had taken him around the country as an auditor for federal bankruptcy court and as a business consultant. Retirement didn’t last long. “We were participating in a senior swim class at the civic center and saw that after our class, a group of special needs kids used the pool,” Parrish explained. “We have a special needs grandson, and we volunteered to help the special needs children in the pool. This led to an offer for Lynn to work as a teacher’s assistant in their classroom at the ISD. “Next thing you know, she’s getting up early every morning for work and is wondering what I’m going to be doing all day—sleep? So, I said, maybe I’ll get a job driving bus. And that’s what I did.” Parrish soon saw the opportunity to chronicle the humorous incidents of driving busloads of kindergarten through high school students. “I started keeping a daily log of some of the funny things I saw that happened with kids, and in some cases, their parents,” Parrish said. “Adventures of Mr. Bill” was published last fall. “I wanted to keep it positive and that’s easy—I really like what I’m doing and kids are fun to be around,” Parrish said. “I know this—I find myself working more as a ‘retiree’ than I did in 40 years in retail management and as a business consultant.” Parrish loves his new career of delivering kids to and from school. “We’re the first and last school employee most students encounter every day. Sure, we drive the bus, but we also help students with homework, listen to their stories and share in their triumphs. We become a second family, and like any family, there’s a lot of humor to be found. That’s what I’ve written about.” The author continues to keep a daily log. “You never know, there may be a second volume of Adventures of Mr. Bill in the future,” he said. Sales have been good for the book. “I’ve sold a number of copies at schools—I tell the kids, you’d better buy it, you might be in it. When I run into students who are featured in the book, I’ll think to myself, yeah, she’s on page 25, or he’s on this page. It’s been fun.” “Adventures of Mr. Bill,” 93 pages, by Bill Parrish, illustrated by Dick Evans, can be ordered at www.yellowbuspublishing.com. June June 7-8 - Chicago Book Fair on Printers Row, Chicago, IL Author Mr. Bill June 29 - Old Town Art Fair, Traverse City, MI Author Mr. Bill and Illustrator Dick Evans |
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