Moorhead, Minn. -- The
laptop sits atop a little shelf behind the bus driver.
Bungie-strapped to the shelf and running on the bus' wifi, it uses
Google Maps to track the bus' location. Driver Barry's wife, Kay,
sits behind him, ready to get him out of a mess if big-city roads
make maneuvering the charter bus difficult. For retired farmer Barry
Malke, driving buses for Red River Trails is just plain fun. Kay
accompanies him on nearly every charter, and the couple, in their
mid-60s, is part of a growing group of financially-stable, aging
Americans who continue to work after retirement because they love
what they do.
The
Malkes aren't rich, but they could retire if they wanted to, Barry
said. Between Social Security, income from renting their farm, Kay's
part-time position as a family and consumer science teacher at Oak
Grove, and income from investments, they have it pretty good. Barry's
medication and basic health care are provided by the U.S. Department
of Veterans' Affairs for his service in Vietnam, so that's one less
thing for the couple to consider.
Yet,
driving charter buses doesn't bring in much money. Kay considers it
subsistence work, because everything they do costs money.
“I
like what I do,” he says. “I'd do it for free.”
* * *
Kay
and Barry met through mutual friends early in high school, and they
dated off and on for six years, Kay said. They broke up a few times
while dating, and almost broke up a few times during their marriage,
but they always managed to work out their issues.
“If
you don't argue,” Kay said, “somebody's lying. No two people can
agree on everything.”
They
consider their story to be normal. But normal, it is not.
Kay
completed college in three years—which Barry balanced out by
staying in school for six, he said—and she began teaching in
Wimbledon, N.D., after graduation. Because Barry had been in the
Reserve Office Training Corps, he graduated from North Dakota State
University and was drafted to Vietnam. He entered the service as a
second lieutenant in the fall if 1969 and attended flight school.
“They
tell me he was a good pilot,” Kay said. “He doesn't talk about
it.”
Essentially,
Barry was bait, Kay said. He would fly low to the ground to attract
enemy fire so other troops could locate the Viet Cong. Kay watched
Walter Cronkite every night to see where the fighting was.
“And
I worked a lot of overtime,” she said. “To fill the time.”
Kay
considered enlisting so she could be stationed nearer to Barry, but
Barry objected. Back then, he said, there weren't many women in the
service. The women were rough and, at the time, he didn't think she
could have handled it. It's one of the worst decisions he's made, he
said.
“She'd
have been a general,” Barry said, now confident in her ability.
After
Vietnam, Barry's family was selling his grandpa's farm.
“My
dad said don't buy it, it's too expensive,” Barry said. “So I
bought it.”
Maybe
it's that stubborn streak—that insistent independence—that keeps
him working with students when others before him would have retired.
* * *
Barry
and Kay aren't the only ones working later in life because they enjoy
it, according to the U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2020, employment projections state,
the baby-boom generation will move entirely into the
55-years-and-older age group and increase that age group’s share
of the labor force from 19.5 percent in 2010 to 25.2 percent in 2020.
The bureau expects the boomers to keep working.
AARP
has an entire section on its website dedicated to working after
retirement, and the page includes articles titled “21 Ways to
Jump-Start Your Job Hunt,” “Best Employers for Workers Over 50,”
and “5 More Great Part-Time Jobs for Retirees.” While some
Americans are forced to work longer due to financial need, a growing
number of boomers like Barry and Kay are simply staying active longer
than those before them because they can.
“They’re
not just walking, running and joining gyms, but playing basketball
and signing up for adult hockey leagues,” according to Elizabeth
Brown, an AARP writer. “They’re doing the same activities they
enjoyed in their youth, or that are enjoyed by their own young kids.”
* * *
The
Malkes never had children—“We don't know how,” Barry said,
laughing as Kay shook her head—so driving busses is a way to stay
social.
“We
get our kid fix this way,” Kay said.
Barry
drives annually for several Concordia ensembles including The
Concordia Choir, The Concordia Chapel Choir, The Concordia Orchestra
and The Concordia Band. His favorite Concordia ensemble to have ever
driven, however, is the Percussion Ensemble.
“They're
great; they make so many different noises. … You name it, they'll
figure out how to make music out of it,” he said.
They
used water glasses on one tour, he said. They measured out each
glass' contents with syringes and had a separate glass to dip fingers
in—to prevent the pitch of the glass from changing.
“They
had everything,” he said. “They packed extra glasses.”
* * *
Becca
Bellman, a senior at Concordia, has ridden on Barry and Kay's bus for
two choir tours. They're good-spirited people who try to understand
inside jokes during dinner entertainment, she said.
“We
all get in our world on tour and live in the now,” Bellman said.
“We're in our little bubble, but they try to be part of it.”
Each
year, Kay passes around a program for the students to sign, “So she
can get rich when we get famous,” Bellman said.
They're
not just a personable couple appreciated by college students,
however.
Most
people apply for a job, get an offer, and then ask about benefits.
But Barry started as a back up driver for a youth group outing at
his church. He never applied, but he already had his commercial
driver's license and drove on that church trip.
“It
was kinda fun, so I kept driving,” he said.
In
the eight years Barry has been with Red River Trails, he and Kay have
traveled with athletes, musicians, and tourists around the country.
They drive annually for groups, but they have also driven for a
variety of people: wealthy Norwegians enamored by the diversity of
landscape in America, F-M Acro Team athletes headed for national
performances and members of an antique tractor club.
Red
River Trails drives in the 48 continental states as well as Canada,
according to owner Greg Nord, but Barry has driven internationally as
well. He drove for the Concordia Band in Norway, for no pay though
his expenses were covered, because manager Kent Locken realized it
was cheaper to bring Barry and rent a bus than to hire a Norwegian to
drive, Barry said. It was a unique experience that he gladly did
without getting paid.
“I
got a free trip to Norway out of the deal,” he said.
Barry
and Kay are in high demand. Groups traveling annually request them,
and some tours are getting longer.
“I'd
like to have more drivers like him,” Nord said. “It makes my job
easier. I can send him to a major city somewhere, and he'll have no
problem driving the bus. From New York to California—he's good.”
Kay
goes on nearly every drive with Barry that will be more than a few
days. Coach bus drivers sit a little lower than the passengers, and
there are a few steps that face the front windshield before everyone
turns to exit the bus. Sometimes, usually when they're driving
somewhere simple, Kay will sit on the steps next to Barry. She'll
just sit there, and they'll see the countryside together. Maybe Barry
and Kay will stop driving someday, but with someone else paying for
them to see the country, it isn't likely to be soon.
