About a month ago, an opportunity presented itself to tell Ron my name. My sister had come to visit, she had ridden the shuttle a few times with me (an absolute MUST, if you're going to visit me), and after she left he asked me to remind him what my sister's name was. I think he and I both knew that this was his secret ploy to learn my name, and I was just fine with that. "Erin. So we're Erin and Emily, and people get our 'E' names confused all the time." I was so IN after that! The new morning greeting is now, "Well good mornin' Miss Emily!" And last week, as I departed the shuttle to start my school day, he said, "Don't let 'em getcha down today, Miss Emily!" And my world is now complete.
Honestly, I feel as though Ron could be one of my Buehler uncles. He used to drive semi-truck (he hauled diesel fuel), and he's from the sticks (which really sounds more like "the steeks" in Ron the shuttle driver speak). His backwoods North Carolina accent is so strong, he said, that he always makes his wife call to order food because he's afraid people won't be able to understand him. Speaking of his wife, Ron once said that when he first met his wife, he knew that he had to marry her because she was "cuter than a sack of puppies." Oh Ron...
What else do I know about my dear friend, Ron, you ask?
- His wife is an occupational therapist, and she is as messy as I am
- Ron has self-proclaimed OCD and has been quoted as saying that he "might as well follow his wife around with a broom and dustpan"
- He has two sons - one a year older than me, one a year younger
- He knows when there are law students riding the shuttle (because I'm pretty sure he knows where all the regular riders get off and has asked us about our programs and life plans), and he'll let them off at an unscheduled stop in front of the law building so they don't have to make a long, uphill walk (which he often accompanies with a "The boss man's not in yet, I can let you off here")
- When Erin was visiting, she noticed that when Ron pulls up to the shuttle stop, he stops the bus right in front of me and not at the bus stop where all the other not-regular-riders wait.
- He and his wife are getting new carpet this week (why do I know these things?)
- He LOVES Pepsi and peanut butter/cheese crackers
- He has asked about Erin nearly EVERY DAY since she visited. One day, he asked about what she wants to do for a living, and after my response, he said, "She comes from good stock; she'll be fine." Oh Ron...
I think there's a moral to this story (because this is not just about stalking Ron, although I DID stalk him on Google images, the Wake Forest website, AND the faculty/staff directory to find a picture of him. Please note: he really doesn't look the same without his signature WF hat.). The moral of this story is that there are fantastic people inhabiting every corner of your life; they might be friends and family (and these people should be rather obvious to you), but they also might be your shuttle driver (not so obvious). People like Ron could fill a background role in my life: I could simply say the requisite "hello" and "thanks, have a good day" when I ride the shuttle and not take our conversations any further. Instead, my mornings and afternoons are brightened by a bald man from the backwoods, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope I brighten his day, too (because we all know how annoying it would be to sit quietly, overhearing the conversations between the freshman girls who are going to Whole Foods, the mall, tanning, and then dinner and just "CAN'T BELIEVE that ugly guy from the baseball team friended me on Facebook." Sigh. So glad I'm saving Ron from that for the 14 minutes per day that I'm on there).Peace, love, and unlikely friendships--
Emily
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