I have a new hero. She is a lady who rides my bus and I see her every couple of days. Remember when I wrote about the pedophile on the bus and the lady who spoke up about it? Same woman. Today she was sitting in front of me on the bus, as were two cute little black kids probably around 8 and 5 years old, they were by themselves with no parents or gaurdian. More kids have been riding muni to and from school recently, maybe because of the new Free Muni for Youth Pilot Program. San Francisco has pretty much no schoolbus service, so most kids have to ride MUNI to school every day. I for one would never let my kids ride the 'Nasty Nine' by themselves, lots of families do not have any other choice however, and it makes me feel better to know that there are people on the bus who will look out for these kids' safety and well being. Here's what happened... (No, that is not a Monk reference, even though Monk is awesome and based in SF.)
The bus was stuffy and packed as usual, it's been a really hot day so far, and the kids were both fanning themselves against the stifling heat. My newfound hero was keeping her eye on the kids, which seems to be something she makes a habit of, being the genuine good samaritan that she is.
LADY: (to little kids) Do you guys have any water? It's important to drink water when it's hot like this.
OLDER BOY: No Ma'am.
LADY: (hands a dollar to each of the boys) Here, go buy some cold water when you get off the bus. No candy now, make sure you buy some water.
LITTLE BOYS: Thank you!
My hero proceeded to chat with the older boy about school, his relationship with his little brother, and riding the bus. His brother dozed off in the seat across from him. The older boy told my hero about some helicopters he had seen flying over his school earlier that day and she taught him some facts about helicopters and general aviation. I had a hard time not smiling throughout their exchange, it was just so darn cute, and the lady was so good at talking to the little kids. She asked the little boy where his stop was and warned him to be careful since he was getting off on mission street. As the bus approached mission street she told him to wake up his little brother.
OLDER BOY: Hey (boys name) You dropped your dollar on the floor!
YOUNGER BOY: (waking up with a jolt) Where?!
The entire back of the bus exploded into laughter. As the boys exited the bus several people chimed in saying "Kids coming off the bus" and telling people in the aisles to move out of the way. We all watched as the boys exited the bus and waited to see if an adult would pick them up. An collective sigh of relief was heard as we saw an older man, presumably their grandfather, take both boys by the hand an lead them down mission street.
This incident really restored my faith in San Franciscans, and human beings in general. It's very good to know that there are decent people here, even on a piece of shit like the 9 San Bruno. This is the second time i have seen this lady look out for another, more vulnerable, rider. I am really starting to like and respect her. Whats even better is I think she goes to my clinic, we need more people like her who directly contradict the general stigma about methadone maintenance patients, we are not bad people.
Anyhoo I just wanted to share that with you guys. I am going to post more of my stepwork later today. Thanks for reading.
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