My brothers and sisters

Sometimes, the beauty of the human soul manifests itself so strongly in my life that it takes my breath away. The best thing about this job, hands down, is meeting and interacting with my brothers and sisters from all over the world. All walks of life, all histories, backgrounds, stories, coalesce here—in my bus—and create something beautiful every day.

I need to tell you about Shekwan. I honestly have no idea how to spell her name. I didn’t talk to her for long. But she was in my bus. I was doing transfers all day from the docks to one of our helicopter venues. These transfers aren’t full-fledged tours, so I don’t really get the chance to get to know my passengers at all, don’t give the full tour, etc. But one of the groups I took was made up of a big group from India. When I picked them up from the helicopter tour to take them back to the dock, I was talking with a couple while waiting for the others. They were the kindest people. They told me in their thick Indian accents that they were from India originally, but now lived in New York. The wife was wearing a beautiful scarf that I complimented her on and asked where she got it. She told me it was from India and I told her it was lovely and that I’d have to go to India someday to get one.

Well, I drove them back to their ship, not really saying much of anything. The whole group was chattering loudly in Hindi together in the back, so I was talking to the sweet little couple from Wisconsin behind me in an attempt to help them feel more comfortable. Anyway, when I got to the dock, I was unloading everyone and this Indian woman comes down the stairs with her scarf in her hands and asked me, “you liked this scarf, yes?” And I said, “yes, it’s beautiful.” She then held it out to me and said, “Here. I want you to have it.” I was caught completely by surprise and sputtered out something like, “Oh! I can’t take your scarf!” But she insisted and said, “no really, I would like you to have it.” I almost started crying right there. I gave her a big hug, thanked her, and told her I would never forget her. It was such a sweet, sweet experience and in that instant I saw and was grateful for the small glimpse I got of this dear woman’s soul—her kindness, generosity, and warmth. So, so lovely. That type of moment is seriously the best part of my job. People make life so rich.

Today while I was loading my guests after one of our stops, a Taiwanese brother and sister duo who now live in New Zealand, came out of the bus to get pictures with me. Then they started talking with me and the brother bashfully suggested with a smile on his face that after this whole bus driving thing I should try stand-up comedy. He said my humor and timing were wonderful and that I really should think about it. HA! So sweet! It’s good to know at least SOMEONE thinks I’m funny. Sometimes I get super quiet groups that don’t laugh at my jokes and I feel like a total idiot, so these moments are encouraging.

I’m grateful for the goodness of life. And the sweetness of living. And the joy of being human. All of us, with our hurt, and imperfections, and funny quirks, are beautiful. Our souls are huge and regal and eternal. And every glimpse I get of that makes me want to be a better person.