Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

Dear Larry: I am a minority and have worked as a bus driver for more than 30 years. I have reached the age of mandatory retirement, but frankly, I hate to retire. I know people should retire at certain ages because their reflexes slow down, which causes passengers and other drivers to be more at risk.

I hate to retire because I will miss the wonderful people I have had the privilege to transport to various destinations. Don't get me wrong; I will not miss the jerks who rode my bus. I won't miss the loud teenagers or the slobbering drunks. I won't miss the bullies or the thieves. And I won't miss the foul language that always has grated on my ears. I could make a long list of the kinds of people who would have made my bus better to ride had they been required to walk.

I have thought about my 30-plus years on the job and the kinds of people I have met along the way and determined the good people outnumber the bad people by far. I can't give you an exact number, but the good people are in the vast majority.

I have thought about the random acts of kindness people have shown to others. I have seen countless times when people paid complete strangers' fares. I have seen teenagers get out of their seats for pregnant women, elderly people, and disabled people. I have seen people come to the aid of others to protect them from drunks or out-of-control husbands. I even have seen people who hate the sight of blood bandage wounds and assist in the births of children.

I will miss the people who depended upon me to be on time at bus stops so they could get to their minimum-wage jobs. I especially will miss Miss Joe.

She is the one who sticks out in my mind the most. She has Down syndrome and must travel an hour and a half to work at a fast-food restaurant. She is always there on time, be it summer, fall or winter. She never fails to thank me with a giant smile. I will miss her.

Larry, I have read your column on my breaks for years, and you try to get people to look past color. I finally have reached that point in my life.

When I started at the bus company, I was an affirmative action hire. I had a bad attitude about white people. Because I have dealt with people of all races every working day of my life, I have learned a few things.

Bad people come in all colors. Good people are not a factor of any socio-economic group. In other words, every race, color and creed has good and bad people. Anyone who uses the words "those people" is always wrong.

I hate to use this overused phrase, but some of my best friends are white. Some of the people who have done me the most harm are minorities.

It is wrong to label and stereotype.

I will miss my job. — R.L.

Dear R.L.: Wow, I am sure your friends/passengers will miss you, too. Your company will lose a valuable representative.

Thank you for sharing your insight. It is exciting to hear how a person started a job having one attitude and, because of experience, had a complete change.

Too many people hold on to predetermined opinions and never change, even if there's overwhelming evidence that runs contrary to their opinions.

As an aside, you have a wonderful ability to express yourself and feel the emotions of others. You need to stay in the work force by mentoring others.

I wish you the best, whatever path you may tread.

To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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