Amazing things have happened on buses. Notable are Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat for a white man in 1955, the Magic School Bus’s 1994 trip to outer space and that one time I actually found a seat on the Red Terror Wolfline.
Since moving to Raleigh, I have become familiar with the Capital Area Transit bus system — or at least the routes to Crabtree Valley. On one trip to the mall, I overheard an older woman asking for money over the phone. When the bus arrived to Crabtree Valley, a stranger handed the woman $5 bill. “I understand,” is all she said. Her generosity melted my heart. Like I said, amazing things happen on buses.
“That was so nice,” I whispered to my friend. I began to compose a tweet. This random act of kindness needed to be shared with the world.
“Were you even listening?” my friend retorted. Consumed by Twitter, I missed a vital part of the woman’s phone conversation. Apparently she had mentioned having withdrawals and needing money to buy drugs before returning to the homeless shelter. It was too late. I had already sent the tweet and my followers had favorited it.
My mood immediately shifted. If the stranger knew the money would be spent on drugs, why would she want to contribute to that? I concluded that she was a bad influence.
A few weeks after this incident, I watched Les Misérables. In the movie, Jean Valjean is freed from slavery after serving 19 years. The only person in town willing to house the convict is bishop Myriel, and instead of repaying the bishop, Valjean steals his silverware. When Valjean is caught by police the next day, Myriel insists the silverware was a gift. The bishop does not request payment for covering for Valjean. Instead, he only asks that Valjean promise to be an honest man. Years later, Valjean becomes the town’s mayor. The bottom line is that if Myriel had not given him a chance, Valjean would still be in prison.
Like Valjean, the woman on the bus may have just needed a chance to become a better person. There is something about accepting help from a stranger that makes you feel more accountable for your actions — family and friends are supposed to come to your aid, but strangers owe you nothing. The stranger provided the woman with an opportunity to better herself. What she did with the money remains a mystery, but I would like to think she took the $5 and invested it in a rehabilitation program. I hope my speculations are somewhat accurate to prove, if for no other reason, that redemption is possible and to uphold my claim that amazing things happen on buses.
