Hall of Famer
Entering the otherwise empty Budget rental car shuttle bus after returning my car, I offered a polite good morning to the driver, and then promptly sat down to check my email. Two minutes from the terminal, a thought crossed my mind. Here I am, the only passenger in this bus - how nice is it to ignore my driver? After all, he's driving this bus just for me, so the least that I can do is pay a few minutes of attention to him.
I asked him how he enjoys his job. You will never believe how much he told me in those two minutes, and what an impact it has made on my life!
Here's his entire life story, and I'm not changing any details: at 18 years old he joined the army, at 23 the police force, and at 51 he retired as a 28-year veteran of the police force. After spending three months at home with his wife, he said, "It would either be first-degree murder, suicide or find a part-time job." He chose the job and became a driver for the Budget rental car shuttle.
"I figured I would try it for a year, that turned into 17 years, and I'm still here. I just turned 69 and I think that pretty soon I'm going to retire for good. So where you headed today?"
"Back home to Cleveland!" I answered.
"Cleveland? Oh yeah, I was there once in 1974. I went there to go to a Browns game in the old Municipal Stadium. I want to watch my brother play. He play for the Kansas City Chiefs. I froze my #*% off."
At this point we reached the terminal and I asked him what his brother's name was. As I exited the bus he answered me, "Buck Buchanan. Enjoy your flight." I jotted that name down. Earlier this month I took my son to the football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio. Curious to know if there was even such a guy by that name who played in the NFL, I did a bit of research on Buck Buchanan.
Interestingly, not only did he exist and play for the Chiefs from 1963 through 1975, he was actually a Hall of Famer. He led his team to a Super Bowl victory as a defensive tackle, holding his opponents to only 67 rushing yards, and was listed in Sporting News as one of the 100 greatest football players ever!
I also discovered something very sad about him. While he was inducted into the Pro football Hall of Fame in 1992, he died from lung cancer one week before the induction ceremony took place.
I learned so much from that short encounter. Firstly, I was reminded about how much people appreciate when you take time to notice them. I mean, he practically shared his entire life story with me during those two minutes. Learning about his brother's story also was a sobering reminder of the fragility of life. All in all, my encounter gave me some invaluable perspectives on life.
The Talmud teaches us about the importance of greeting and treating every human being with respect, but sometimes we don't we don't realize how much we will gain from the endeavor. "Who is a wise man? One who learn from everyone."
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Koval
