Kindness Starts With One®

Driving with Kindness

When I was in elementary school, we were quite poor. The school offered free lunch but when the teacher called your name to collect lunch money, you had to call out, "free lunch!" I was too embarrassed to call the phrase out, so I would just skip lunch. My bus driver told me he needed help opening the doors when kids got on the bus in the mornings and asked if I could help. I also had to walk the aisle of the bus and make sure everyone was off, which meant I was the last one off the bus. Every morning, he slipped me a quarter before I got off the bus for helping him. Because of his concern, I had lunch every day and the other kids didn't know. We became great friends and he became the closest thing to a father I ever had. He took me to church with his family and also paid for me to go to 4-H camp two summers in a row, among other things. We moved when I was in eighth grade and that was the last time I saw him. My children know of him and so will my grandchildren. I'm still brought to tears when I think about him. Love is the greatest gift!