May I, through your columns, thank the Director of Public Transportation, Mr.

Herman Basden, for his caring and understanding in trying to resolve the difficult situation regarding the congestion at school closing time.

Mr. Basden patiently explained on the phone that many children finished school at around the same time (3.30) each afternoon. Those who travel by bus were anxious to catch the next bus home. The children have been obliged to race from school and crowd into the buses at the Washington Street depot.

Alternatively, those trying to catch the bus from the Tennis Stadium stop have been disappointed to see several loaded buses pass them by.

Having to catch later buses, these children were not able to meet the St.

George's/St. David's bus to complete their journey home to St. David's -- some days arriving home as late as quarter to six o'clock.

Mr. Basden received our appeal for some relief to this problem with great sympathy whilst explaining that there was only a fixed number of buses in service and that the summer tourists added to the usual load. However, he was able to make some adjustment as the children have had better luck in getting a place on the home bus. It appears that the Island needs more buses and more drivers.

I believe Mr. Basden was appointed in January 1976 and will be retiring soon.

May we wish this conscientious and dedicated gentleman a long and happy retirement.

PARENTS OF SCHOOLCHILDREN St. David's Take control of your life October 3, 2000 Dear Sir, As you are all aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there is no better time than the present for women over the age of 35 to take control of their lives. It is very important that when one reaches the age of 35 one begins having regular mammograms. One doesn't need a referral to have them -- the TB and Cancer Institute and King Edward VII Memorial Hospital have mammography machines. The results of the mammography goes to your doctor of choice. This simple process can help save your life. Early detection is the key to a successful recovery. Breast Cancer is an enemy of us all. It can attack young and old, black and white.

We owe it to ourselves to ensure that we give our bodies the best of care.

That may sometimes mean a "second opinion''. A true professional will agree that one should have a second opinion if that is what one wants. Consulting with an overseas doctor whose speciality is in the field of breast cancer can only enhance your chances of getting the most up to date medical care and, therefore, increase the success rate of beating the illness.

One should consult with their insurance provider when they are well, in order to find out what coverage they are being afforded and what benefits their particular insurance provider offers to them. Don't wait until you are in a crisis situation where decisions have to be made immediately to try and find out details of your coverage and whether or not you do have the option for a second opinion and what your insurance carrier will or will not pay. There are health care providers in Bermuda who are working very closely with "Centres of Excellence'' in the United States that can offer the "second opinion'' and further medical treatment with respect to breast cancer and other related illnesses. They are working with hospitals such as Duke University Medical Centre, Johns Hopkins, Lahey Clinic and many more excellent health care facilities which could afford you that "second opinion'' without the additional worry of "how will I pay for it'' or "my insurance company told me they will only cover a portion of my visit overseas because the surgery can be done here''. If your health care provider has developed a working relationship with overseas "Centres of Excellence'', you can choose one of those "Centres'' from among their list of hospitals and, working together with your health care provider in Bermuda, you would be referred to one of those Centres to obtain that "second opinion''. That is why it is so important that you know exactly what your insurance will and will not cover for you in times of a crisis, before the crisis arrives.

By giving yourself the opportunity to have that "second opinion'' you allow your body to have the opportunity of receiving the most up to date care and new techniques and tests available in order to assist in preventing the possible return of the illness. For example, did you know that there is a test that can be performed on the Centenal Lymph Node, which is the main lymph node by injecting a form of radioactive material which under x-ray will "light up'' the main lymph node and allow the surgeon to identify it in order to remove it to have it tested to see if it contains any cancer? The results come back and if the main lymph node is cancer free, in most cases there would be no removal of any other lymph nodes as there is a 99 percent chance that they are not affected as well. This is a technique which affords the patient the choice of either having the radio active test done with minimal surgery or agreeing to the removal of all 15 lymph nodes. Again, it is a decision that is left to the patient, and the patient has been given the option.

Take control of your life and remember we owe it to ourselves to do all that we can to combat Breast Cancer by looking after our bodies and having mammograms regularly and ensuring that the choices we make concerning our bodies are the best. We are in control of our bodies and the responsibility stops with us.

CARING FEMALE Hamilton Parish Looking for old friends September 18, 2000 Dear Sir, I am writing to ask you if you could help me trace some "old'' girls that I used to work with at A.S. Cooper's Reid Street Store 50 years ago. I lived out in the Colony from May 1949-September 1950. At that time my name was Edna Quinnell. My husband was a sailor serving on HMS Glasgow. We had an apartment at Veranda House, King Street, (junction of Happy Valley Road). It was the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Murphie. I worked at the store on the ground floor where we stocked Italian leather handbags, Charles of the Ritz cosmetics, doeskin gloves and nylons -- unheard of in England at that time -- and occasionally some of us girls went out on "hen nights''.

I did correspond with my "special friend'' Jessie Johnson who married Fred Tavares soon after I returned home. The best address I had was Evans Bay Apartments, Gibbs Hill, Southampton. Other names were Dolores Elliott, her sister, Dot Carter and Rita Wagner. The reason for these enquiries is that at last I am making a return visit to Bermuda on October 21, 2000 and will be staying at the Rosedon, Hamilton, only for a week, but it will be my lifetime's ambition realised.

I do realise that 50 years have passed, but hopefully there are still a few of the "girls'' still around and it would be wonderful to catch up with what's been happening and then over the years. Myself, I've lost two husbands and am a widow now, I am coming with a lady friend, it's her first trip but of cause for me it will be a very nostalgic trip, I want to go round and visit all the places I used to go to, like Spanish Point, where we went on most Sundays for the day.

Thank you for your time in reading this, and do so hope you will be able to assist me in this matter.

EDNA E. CLEE 48 All Saints Avenue Margate, Kent CT9 5OL England