It has been my experience that, all differences aside, expressions of compassion unite cultures, languages and ages, no matter how wide the gulf. Being sensitive to a particular person’s unique differences always matter but the simplest acts of caring are seldom misunderstood.

There are many ways to serve humanity. My path of compassionate service was irreversibly established by the time I signed on to become a transit bus operator. It never occurred to me that there should or would be a conflict.

It soon became clear to me, however, that I could not separate my life of service from a life of service to mass transit. When I erred, I erred on the side of service and compassion. As I have said, no one should do things the way I do. If you choose to be disobedient regarding policies and procedures, you need to be prepared with a good defense. In this instance, the foundation of a good defense is based on being able to say, “No one got hurt and nothing got broken.”

I often went out of my way to help passengers on my bus. If they had lost something, I made my best effort to recover it for them. When a passenger needed my help, I aided them with the same concern I would have for my next-door neighbor. — Bill Treleven