LAST BUS TO WISDOM by Ivan Doig
Ivan Doig's novels are set in western Montana, this one
written last year, just before his death.
Donal Cameron is an eleven-year-old boy being shipped
off to a great-aunt he has never met. His guardian grandmother, who works as
cook for a large Montana cattle ranch, needs major surgery, and will be unable
to care for him in these summer months of 1951.
Donal's story opens with him on a local bus to Great
Falls to catch the Greyhound, with Manitowoc, Wisconsin his destination. Besides
his ratty suitcase and thirty dollars pinned in his shirt pocket, he has only
two things he values—his lucky charm arrowhead, and his autograph book. He
whiles away his 1,500-mile journey by inviting fellow passengers to make entries
in his book, collecting three soldiers bound for Korea, a waitress looking for a
new job, a sheriff and his prisoner, and many others, one of whom tries to steal
his suitcase.
Things get worse when he reaches Manitowoc. Aunt Kate is
a self-centered old woman who has prepared a cot for Donal in the attic. There
are no kids his age in the neighborhood; Aunt Kate's idea of summer
entertainment is to dump a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle on a card table. She also
co-opts him to her ladies' canasta afternoons. Without his knowledge, she has
thrown out Donal's shirt with his thirty dollars still pinned in it, and he is
dead broke. She argues loudly and endlessly with her husband, Herman, who spends
most of his time in a greenhouse in the backyard to get away from her presence.
Herman has an intense interest in cowboys and Indians and welcomes Donny's
presence as one who has actually lived in the West and can tell him all about
it. Herman, in turn can tell of his former job on a Great Lakes ore boat and the
storm that sank the ship and disabled himself.
The last straw, for Kate, is when she catches Donny
trying to recover his share of the canasta winnings she had denied him. She has
him pack his bag and takes him to the Greyhound bus station. Herman has made
himself scarce after another argument with her. As she waves goodbye to Donny,
he glumly assesses his prospects. His grandmother is only two weeks
post-surgery; someone else will have taken her job at the ranch; his options on
his early arrival in Montana will be only the county orphanage or a foster
home.
The bus seat next to him is suddenly filled by some man
changing seats. “Hallo,” he says. It's Herman.
“What are you doing here?”
“Keeping you company, hah? Long ride ahead, we watch out
for each other.”
“Does she know you're here?”
“Left her a note saying I am gone back to Germany.”
Herman sees this as his own last chance to get out of that house for good. When
they change buses in Milwaukee, they will have disappeared. Anywhere, as long as
it's in the west.
Guided by Donny, they get off the bus at Crow Indian
Agency, Montana, where the 4th of July rodeo and pow-wow of Indian nations is
beginning. Herman gets his fill of bucking horses and Indian dances. Their
adventures continue at Yellowstone park, where a pick-pocket robs Herman's
wallet. To make matters worse, their pictures are among the “Wanteds” now posted
at every post office and bus stop. Aunt Kate has reported them missing. They
need a place to hide out for the summer until Donny's grandma has recovered
enough to make Donny safe from foster homes and Herman, now without any papers,
safe from deportation as an alien.
They find that place in a very small Montana
town.
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