School bus drivers aren’t always known for being the sweetest of people, and that’s fair. I mean, they have to handle a lot of crazy kid behaviors and sometimes I’m sure they need to be tough. As a bus-riding child of the 80s, I had a couple sweet-as-can-be bus drivers I adored over the years, and a couple I was downright scared of! It takes all kinds, I guess, but one thing is for sure: it definitely takes a special person to take on that kind of responsibility for precious little lives in their day-to-day job.
Bus Driver Larry Farish Jr. Saves the Day
Luckily for a Louisville, Kentucky first grader named Levi, his bus driver Larry Farish, Jr., 35, is the kind of bus driver every kid should have: compassionate, caring, and willing to go the extra mile for his tiny passengers. Levi found this out recently when Larry totally turned around what had started for the little guy as a really tough day.
Farrish recently told TODAY.com how the morning unfolded for little Levi and himself. He said usually Levi is happy in the morning, so he knew immediately when he saw him that something was wrong.
“Normally when I pull up, he’s standing there waiting for me with a big smile, but on this day, he was sitting on the ground with a jacket over his head,” he said. “I asked him, ‘Hey buddy, what’s going on? What’s wrong?’
Levi tearfully explained to his bus driver that it was “pajama day” at school, and he couldn’t participate, because he had no pajamas. My heart broke as I read Levi’s story. All three of my kids were SO excited for pajama day in elementary school when it came around. It’s truly a fun, cozy, relaxing day that kiddos really make core memories with each year. I can’t imagine the shame of being the only kid in regular clothes on that day, sticking out like a sore thumb.
Larry Farrish couldn’t imagine Levi going through that, either. After he saw Levi dejectedly choose a bus seat alone, away from his friends, he was inspired to action to make a difference for his little passenger. “I thought, ‘I gotta fix this,” he said.
So fix it he did, wasting no time to ensure that Levi’s day would soon turn around. After dropping his charges safely off at school, Larry made a beeline for a nearby Family Dollar store, where he purchased two pairs of pajamas for little Levi. Then he immediately headed back to Levi’s school to present him with the PJs.
