The sign was crudely made but to the point: "Family Stranded. Will Work for Gas and Parts for Bus."

It isn't uncommon anymore, even in Cape Girardeau.

Those traveling on South Kingshighway Monday afternoon may have gotten a glimpse of their plea for help. The woman with the sign was Donna Grimm and the woman with her Barbara Adkins. The bundled-up little girl in the stroller was Barbara's 3-year-old daughter Jackie, whose tiny face was red from the gusty wind.

A painted school bus with the hood up was several yards behind the group, in the parking lot of a business that is still under construction. The man working under the bus was Barbara's husband, Greg.

All of the weary travelers were from Gulfport, Miss. They had traveled to Iowa to visit Barbara's other child by another man and were on their way home.

Greg and Barbara have a 6-month old baby girl, Mary, at a hospital in Des Moines. Mary was born prematurely.

The big bus had made the trip to Iowa, but on the return trip the alternator quit and they had to spend $250 on a new one -- practically all the money they had.

So when the bus sputtered Monday on the interstate, they pulled into Cape Girardeau. They felt they had no other choice than to come to Cape Girardeau.

"We'll do any kind of work to get some gas money or money for parts for the bus," Donna said. She said she isn't even sure what parts the bus needs, just that it has trouble making it up hills.

Even if the bus ran, they don't have enough gas money to get them home. They had just enough for that until the alternator went out.

They say they don't need money for food or shelter; they've been sleeping in the bus and eating peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.

"I don't like this one bit," Barbara said of having to beg. "But we've hit rock bottom."

After standing in the cold, Donna said that two men stopped. One said that he would contact his pastor; the other the Salvation Army.

They hope to be on the road again today and home by tonight.