leroy

i spent my morning running late. my parents were arriving at two. it was now one o'clock and i still had an hours drive ahead of me, not to mention a stop at the grocery store to pick up dinner. when that nasty gas pump icon illuminated on my dashboard, i couldn't help but curse. now i drive a diesel car, so my choice of a gas station is limited. i know all three of them along the route home. i needed to fill up at the first one - the second would be a stretch. when i got to the diesel pump, around the back as always, i encountered a school bus, parked at the pumps. now if you drive a diesel, you know that on most diesel pumps there are two nozzles, a larger one for trucks and a smaller one for cars. since when has a school bus been onsidered a car? i took out my phone (also my camera) and took a quick photo to text to my family, looking for sympathy. i went around to the side of the bus and shot another photo of the empty driver's seat. just as i downloaded the photo and pushed send, the driver walked up behind me. again i cursed. this would make the third time since i started blipping that i'd been busted. he looked at me quizzically as i babbled some reason about why i was shooting a picture through the door of his bus. he was kind, interested and introduced himself. leroy deans, that's beans with a d. he told me this was his last day driving a bus, he las turning in his bus tomorrow. he took the nozzle off the pump and started filling. last fill up he said. he was kind. he was telling me his story. all was good. we chatted a bit more, he was 72. he's been in the guard, worked at the mill, retired and had been driving a school bus for the last ten years. it was the best job he'd ever had. i thanked leroy for his time and he tipped his hat, making sure i noticed it was a vietnam veteran cap. i said goodbye, got in my car and drove away, forgetting completely that i was just about out of gas. 300 yards down the road, i started worrying. if leroy was so happy, why was he turning in his bus? i needed to hear the rest of the story. i turned around and headed back to the bass station. leroy was still filling up and gently smiled when i ran up to him. "leroy - why are you giving up your bus?"

it's now reads 11:56 on my laptop and once again, i am running late. this story to be continued tomorrow.