To end this evening, I’d like to tell you a story.
A crowded bus stopped to pick up a bent old woman. With great difficulty, she struggled up the steps with a large basket of freshly washed laundry. “You’ll have to put your basket in the rear of the bus,” said the driver impatiently.
“But I can’t. They belong to me,” the woman replied. The driver was firm. “You and that basket are in the way. Either stow it or get off.” The old lady was almost in tears when a young man arose. “You sit here, Ma’am,” he offered. “I’ll take your basket to the back and watch it until your stop.” The woman was doubtful, but the driver was about to put her off. A second lady sitting nearby, said to the old woman, “That boy’s all right. Can’t you see his uniform? I'll vouch for him.”
The woman was soon seated, and the basket of clothes carried to the rear. At her stop, the boy gently set the basket down by her, then returned to the bus and continued on his way.
“Who’s the kid?” asked the driver of the second woman. “I don’t know the kid,” came the reply, “but I know the uniform, and you can trust it every time.”