It Takes a Village
I seem to have a lot of streetcar stories. This afternoon on my way home from work, the car was filling up as usual with passengers on their way home. I always stand in the back to leave seats for women and older riders. All the seats were taken when an elderly black man boarded and made his way to the back. He was obviously overheated and sat down on the floor by the back door just in front of me. By the way he kept wiping his face I could tell he was very uncomfortable. There were three private high school kids occupying seats. I was disappointed that none of them offered this man their seat. Ten minutes must have gone by before the man finally got up and offered a nearby Latino rider $2.00 for his seat. I’m pretty sure this man did not understand English. I usually try not to tell people what to do, but I had to intervene. I stopped the old man and walked over to the school kids and asked, “Guys, can one of you youngsters please give this man a seat?” One of them instantly got up and apologized to me. The old man took the seat. An older black woman who witnessed smiled at me as we were both shaking our heads. A tough looking young black man who was standing near me said, “Thanks for doing that.” It made me wonder if what they’re teaching in Catholic schools is making an impact. It also reinforced my agreement that it truly does take a village.
