W3: When A Bus Driver Picks Up The Community
You never know when you’re going to make an impact on someone, and at the same time, on a community. Larry Farrish, Jr., a bus driver for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky did just that when he went way out of his way to help one of the kids on his bus. Mr. Larry, as the kids call him, didn’t think much of it, but very quickly news spread, and two days later, they were on the Today Show.
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W3: WHEN A BUS DRIVER PICKS UP THE COMMUNITY
DO YOU EVER THINK BACK TO WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, AND SOMEONE MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE JUST BY DOING SOMETHING SMALL? IT’S AMAZING WHAT SMALL GESTURES FOR PEOPLE CAN DO WHEN THEY’RE TIMED JUST RIGHT.
THIS IS STORY ABOUT A SMALL GESTURE…AND PAYING ATTENTION TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. HOW TAKING AN INTEREST IN SOMEONE ELSE’S WELL BEING, MAYBE TAKING AN EXTRA STEP FOR THEM WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE TO – HAS AN IMPACT….ON THEM….ON YOU…AND IN THIS CASE, ON THE COMMUNITY.
EPISODE
LARRY FARRISH JR. IS A 35-YEAR-OLD BUS DRIVER FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. HE’S BEEN DRIVING BUSES FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS, ALTHOUGH DRIVING SCHOOL BUSES WASN’T EXACTLY HIS LONG-TERM PLAN. HE TOOK THE JOB BECAUSE THE HOURS FIT HIS SCHEDULE, BUT ONCE HE STARTED DRIVING ROUTES AND CONNECTING WITH THE KIDS, HE REALIZED THAT THIS WAS HIS PASSION - DRIVING THE KIDS TO AND FROM SCHOOL TRULY MADE HIM HAPPY.
SO, HE MADE IT PERMANENT, AND HE’S PROUD OF HIS WORK. IN FACT, THE WAY HE THINKS ABOUT HIS JOB IS THAT ONCE HE PICKS UP THE KIDS FROM THEIR PARENTS, THEY’RE HIS KIDS…SO HE TAKES THE RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY.
EARLIER THIS YEAR ON ONE OF HIS ROUTES, MR. LARRY, AS THE KIDS CALL HIM, STOPPED TO PICK UP A FIRST GRADER NAMED LEVI….AND IMMEDIATELY NOTICED SOMETHING WAS WRONG.
LEVI HAD HIS HEAD HANGING DOWN, AND WHEN MR. LARRY ASKED HIM WHAT WAS WRONG, LEVI LIFTED HIS HEAD AND WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN HIS FACE, HE SAID HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WEARING REGULAR CLOTHES FOR PAJAMA DAY – HE DIDN’T HAVE REAL PAJAMAS.
SO USED TO SEEING LEVI WITH A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE, MR. LARRY IMMEDIATELY FELT BADLY FOR LEVI, WHO GOT ON THE BUS AND SAT BY HIMSELF SO HE DIDN’T FEEL WORSE NEXT TO ALL OF THE OTHER KIDS IN THEIR PAJAMAS.
MR. LARRY DROPPED THE KIDS OFF AT SCHOOL AND HAD A THOUGHT. WITH SOME TIME IN HIS SCHEDULE, HE’D SEE WHAT HE COULD DO TO HELP. AFTER A QUICK TRIP TO THE DOLLAR STORE, MR. LARRY RETURNED TO ENGELHARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH TWO DIFFERENT PAIRS OF PAJAMAS. HE ASKED THE FRONT DESK TO CALL LEVI DOWN AND AS SOON AS LEVI SAW MR. LARRY IN THE HALLWAY, HE BROKE INTO A HUGE SMILE…ONCE HE SAW THE PAJAMAS, LEVI STARTED TO CRY.
HE IMMEDIATELY GRABBED THE PAJAMAS AND HUGGED THEM TO HIS CHEST.
WHAT MR. LARRY HAD DONE TURNED LEVI’S DAY COMPLETELY AROUND AND SHOWED HIM THAT HE HAS ALLIES ALL AROUND HIM IN THE COMMUNITY. BUT IT DIDN’T END THERE.
JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT GOT WIND OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED, AND THEY WERE SO INSPIRED BY THE STORY THAT THEY TOOK SOME PHOTOS OF LEVI AND MR. LARRY AND POSTED THE STORY ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE.
WITHIN TWO DAYS, THE STORY HAD MADE ITS WAY TO THE TODAY SHOW, WHERE THEY DID A SEGMENT ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED, MAKING THE ENTIRE LOUISVILLE COMMUNITY PROUD. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE RALLIED AROUND MR. LARRY’S SMALL GESTURE AS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THEIR COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER FOR ONE ANOTHER.
NOW, IT’S EASY FOR SOMEONE TO HEAR THIS STORY AND THINK THAT DOING SOMETHING LIKE WHAT MR. LARRY DID SHOULD ALWAYS BE CELEBRATED BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND NATIONAL MORNING SHOWS…AND WELL, IT SHOULD, BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS.
IF YOU WERE TO ASK MR. LARRY, NOTORIETY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HE DID. HE DIDN’T THINK ABOUT THAT. AND THAT’S NOT WHY SO MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD GO TO GREAT LENGTHS FOR OTHERS WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING. IT’S BECAUSE WE’RE HUMAN…TAKING CARE OF ONE ANOTHER WITHOUT BEING ASKED IS AN EXPRESSION OF OUR HUMANITY, AND AS LONG AS WE HAVE THE COURAGE TO EXPRESS IT…ONE SMALL GESTURE CAN HAVE A VERY BIG IMPACT.
…JUST ASK LEVI.
https://www.today.com/parents/family/bus-driver-saves-day-gets-pajamas-for-boy-rcna139017