In a morning with bad weather, or after a weary workday, I took campus shuttle between the main entrance and stop close to my lab. The driver was a grey-haired lady. When passengers got on board, she'd greet everyone with smile, "Good morning, young man", "Good afternoon, young lady". I am no longer a young man; however, I gleefully accepted it- at least my grey hair is less than hers.
The driver lady loved to cheer passengers up, even though not every one of them was enthusiastic to respond. One day she told a passenger that the land of NIH Bethesda campus used to be a farm. The owner couple wanted to support NIH's mission so donate their farm for NIH's relocation in 1938. "Every day I learned new knowledge, and I want to share it with people." She said.
The next day, I gave her the printout of my slides to introduce the historic landmarks in NIH Bethesda campus. She was a little surprised. When I was getting off the shuttle, she searched her bag and hand me over an energy bar, "Young man, this can keep you up in a workday, please take it." and I did.
The driver lady kept providing her service consistently and sending her warm greetings to every one. In a world full of craziness and cold calculations, she showed me there is still goodwill and warm hearts among the ordinary people. Humanity is still hopeful.
On Friday evening, I left lab and got on the shuttle. The driver lady told passengers that it was her last day to run this route. She would be assigned to an off-campus route. When the shuttle arrived at the stop, I waited for all passengers to get off and then approached her, telling her I am very grateful for her service, and hope she will be re-assigned to this route back soon. She searched her bag again, handed me over a folded A4 paper. "This is the words of wisdom I received from a great woman, and I want to share it with you. My favorite is the last one. Please check it."
When I arrived home, I upfolded the paper and read the last paragraph:
"When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you were smiling. Live your life so when you die, you are the one who smile and everyone around you are crying."