Fw: The friendly busdriver

THE FRIENDLY BUSDRIVER

Travelling through the night on a bus is never a very exciting experience. Whenever you fall asleep, that is if you do, the next town is in sight, the lights go on and the driver announces what town we are entering.

Our bus driver was very kind and twice let people off where they wanted to before or after he stopped at the bus depot. After bringing freight to the bus depot in North Battleford some people departed at the edge of town. After that we went on to the highway and our next stop would be Saskatoon, just in time for breakfast. A young lady approached the driver and told him in broken English that she should have gotten off the bus in North Battleford. She was on the phone with the person who was waiting for her there. The driver politely told the lady that they are about 20 minutes out of North Battleford and his next stop would be Saskatoon. Going back would take him too far from his schedule. What was he supposed to do? He took over the telephone from the young lady and after explaining his dilemma he said: "I cannot leave her in the middle of the night on the side of the highway. Oh, you do not have any transportation?" The driver thinks for a moment and answers: "ok, I am coming back to North Battleford and drop her off at the store there on the edge of town. I should be there in about 20 minutes."

When we arrived in North Battleford, the driver got off the bus, made sure that someone was there to pick up the young lady, accepted the thanks and got back on the bus. He was still smiling, even though he was more than 40 minutes behind schedule.

When we arrived in Saskatoon, we were in time for our next scheduled departure. One of the ladies commented on the friendliness of the bus driver and we both wondered if he was a Christian. He certainly was an example to many of us.

Addy Oberlin