Below is something I wrote not too long ago. Interesting isn' is it what ways kindness comes to another.
LA
======================================================================================
Just some thoughts:
We have a good friend of ours who grew up in west Texas. He shared this story with us.
In this small west Texas community lived Bill Edwards. Bill lived a few miles from town on a ranch. Unfortunately Bill was in the words of one of my old relatives, “He wasn’t right in the head.” Or as some came to describe him, “He was touched a bit in the head.” If you have any rural raising or rural roots seems most every small town or villages had such a character. In the small Indiana community where I grew up we had two that I have never forgotten. We had Tom and Duffy.
Bill lived out on this ranch and was able to function enough to see about himself but that was about all. Often he came to town to sell butter and eggs that he produced from his simple living. Bill did not drive and thus was often seen making his way walking to town.On the route that Bill walked ran a Greyhound bus. The bus ran nearly every day between Odessa and Lubbock. The policy of the Greyhound Company was there were only certain places where a driver was allowed to pick up or let passengers off the bus. A driver was never to make random stops to take on or let off passengers. That was supposedly an absolute.
Shorty was a bus driver for Greyhound. He worked for Greyhound for nearly forty years. Shorty would often see Bill Edwards walking along the road going to or from town. When Shorty would see Bill regardless of where he might be on his walk Shorty would stop his bus open the door and ask old Bill “You need a ride?” Bill would always climb aboard. Shorty knew how some might take advantage of Bill as often he would have money on him from his butter and eggs business. Most people knew of Bill’s situation. He would be easy prey for anyone wanting to take advantage or due him harm.
One of the favorite things of many of the locals especially the young when they would see ole Bill was to ask, “Bill, what’s you doin’?” Bill’s answer in his Forrest Gump speech, “Watin’ on Shorty, just watin’ on Shorty.” Bill could often be found in his journey from his ranch to or from town just, “Watin’ of Shorty.”
You known sometimes in life there are situations in which maybe it’s best to make exceptions. Maybe even an exception to “company policy” and go with what your heart tells you to do.
====================================================================================
Keep on,
Larry Adamson