Larry The Bus Driver

I just learned the name of the guy who has been driving me home from work for the last three months: Larry.

The reason I didn't know his name before is that he is "just the bus driver". You ride the Metro train and the guy (who you never see) is just "the Metro guy"; you ride the bus and the guy who drives it is "just the bus driver". You don't think about it much. Oh, sure, when he gets home he's Ralph Kramden to somebody, but to you he's "just the bus driver".

But recently, thanks to St. Anthony and to playing country music backwards, I found my lost cell phone and got my Metro money back. Larry helped me do that: he found it, turned it in, and then wrote down the number of the place that I could go get it. He didn't have to go out of his way to do it; the 6:40 pm bus driver sure couldn't be bothered, but Larry did. Larry keeps his bus clean, provides tissues for the riders, drives smoothly, and is always courteous yet professional. The 640P guy is surly, bad tempered, drives all herky-jerky so you wanna puke, takes the corners really aggressively, and practically throws you off the bus at the end of the line.

So I appreciate Larry. I even called in to his supervisor to give him props. When you see a guy doing his job with dignity and doing it well -- that's a witness to others.

Yeah, Larry's all right by me -- and that has nothing to do with the fact that he said I looked like James Bond today (but it didn't hurt). :-)