THE INTERVIEW

See. I did something besides fiddle around

Funny thing it is, when some Peeps pray, they gaze UP! What's up there? Are we trying to look past the moon, sun, and through a hole in the firmament, to 'see' God on the other side? Could it not be that great Reality, God-Spirit, is down here, riding with us in our 15-passenger van?

 I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GOD!

Except that there IS One, and it ain't ME!

ARREST HIM, 

'CUFF HIM, LOCK HIM UP, 

THROW THE KEY AWAY!

During a five-year period I drove a van for a quasi governmental 'Transportation Disadvantaged' Company. My daily run included carrying six 'retarded' Peeps to their jobs in a large hotel on Marco island, then back to their homes after work. We got to know each other well, became a sort of 'family' during those 250 weeks.

Ed:

Each morning as he climbed into the van, I'd ask, “What's goin' on, Ed?”

He'd look over my shoulder, grin, and announce in his inimitable way,

"Oh, a little bit of this,

a little bit of that,

and a little bit of everything else.”

This came to be our “inside” joke/saying wherever we ended up, a party, bowling, rest stop, etc. Also it is part of my philosophy today, learned from a guy with IQ under 70
Someone asks me what I've been doing...

It is probably none of their business

Kyle:

Another time, when a driver cut in front of us illegally, I asked what we should do with him? Kyle shouted out, “Arrest 'im, Cuff 'im, Lock 'im up, and Throw the key away.”

That also became a slogan...as we spotted hundreds of traffic law violators.

Group “THE SIX”:

How distinctly this memory fades back to me, in brilliant cinematic flavors! During this period, I taught the National Safety Council's Defensive Driving Course. I learned (and taught) that a driver who is becoming tired, groggy, or sleepy, only has to wet a small bath towel, cool it in the breeze, and put it around his neck.

One morning, to practice and see if it worked, I put a nice cold wet towel around the back of my neck. Janie asked me what was that for, and I told her, “To keep me awake.”

Eight hours later, early evening, I could see from way up on the hillside, in single file, my six adult “children” each walking as they dripped with sopping wet towels around their necks. Each soaked towel was Beautifully embroidered,

Marco Beach Hotel and Villas. 

 

Among thousands of memories, one more story won't leave me—ever!

The Interview:

Those days I carried a battery-powered pocket tape recorder. One rainy, gloomy Monday morning a thought came to me: use my recorder to interview each rider during a given week, play them all back on Fridays. These turned out to be gems, I tell you!

At first, they couldn't wait to hear themselves answering interview questions for a job, military career, singing waiter, dog handler, television announcer, etc., etc. After a time, we got in the swing of Friday “playback”.

They L O V E D it! (And so did I—grin!) and we all just lived for our Friday 'sharing' times, morning and afternoon.

Often we'd pick up a couple old Peeps going to doctor or something. None of us ever told them what was going on. It was fun to observe the looks of bewilderment. Also I got looks of “Are you CRAZY???!!!”

During this time the retarded peeps learned all about alcoholism and drug addiction (many of their parents had problems). Who knows how God handled that stuff?

THIS, I know: It was a period of my life in which I internalized the truth of, “When ya give it away, ya receive it back tenfold.” These were the fastest

250 weeks, I did not want to leave these Peeps!

Now and then I meet one of “my Peeps” bagging groceries or pulling weeds somewhere, and they still remember me, (and I them—grin!). And this all happened between 15 and 20 years ago.

--steveroni