Published: May 16, 2008 12:07 pm            

Bus mates

• Couple that met on OSU paratransit bus takes the first ride on the newest bus

Oklahoma State University Transit Service just added to its fleet of buses, and made one special run on Thursday afternoon.

“I was the first to apply, but I was the fifth one approved,” said 83-year-old Don Frazier.

Aside from riding the paratransit bus since 2004, Frazier has a more intimate feeling about the transit system. As a regular piano player for the Sunshine Seniors, Frazier met a woman in attendance who he convinced to fill out an application to change from the city of Stillwater system to OSU’s.

Once her application was approved, Frazier asked her to accompany him on the bus to the next Sunshine Seniors event. She asked him, “Is this a date?”

“It hadn’t dawned on me, but I thought it was a good idea,” Frazier joked. “We had our first date on the bus.”

The date ended on a sour note, because Frazier, who is blind in one eye, was not allowed to ride the same bus home as his sweetheart because she is wheelchair bound. The bus driver told Frazier that he would have to wait until another vehicle came to pick him up, because another wheelchair client was waiting for a ride.

“He took off with her,” Frazier said. “I didn’t even get to say good-bye. There’s another story about that — that’s the only date.”

That date was in September. Just two months later, on Dec. 21, Frazier and his new girlfriend, Ladanta (Danny), took it to the next level — marriage.

“They wanted us to get married on the bus,” Danny said.

The couple now uses the service at least once a day (and up to four times a day), and couldn’t be more appreciative.

“This has just been a blessing,” Danny said.

Frazier uses the service once a week to take him to the bowling alley, where he is no slouch.

“I refuse to go bowling with Don — he would embarrass me,” said Steve Singleton, transit systems manager.

Since the wedding, the Fraziers have stayed in close contact with the transit system. In part because they have to call to make plans 24 hours in advance for a ride, and in part because the service has provided so much more than just transportation.

“It lets him be independent without having to call me or my sister for a ride,” said Cheri Hall, Don’s daughter. “She makes him so happy.”

When Hall heard about her father’s plans to marry 85-year-old Danny, she was “just tickled.”

“They’re like a couple of teenagers in love sometimes,” Hall said. “They joke about him marrying an older woman.”

The story ends with everyone happy. The Fraziers are happy. His two daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandson are happy. And Singleton is happy.

“The demands were outstripping the resources we had,” Singleton said, who added that there are now five paratransit buses, and 16 big buses in the fleet.

        

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