I Ride The Bus

I decided to explore my town a bit and see where I could get riding the free bus lines. To be honest, the real impetus was to get a combo meal at the local Wendy's Restaurant. Luckily though, the day was a beautiful 70 degrees and there was enough sunshine to cheer up about anyone.

While sitting at the bus stop (on a nice bench) I was joined by the second of many riders getting on at my stop. His name was Kelly, he was 22 years old, a Steamboat native, and he had Downs Syndrome.

At first, Kelly was not talkative. His behavior was somewhat anxious and he kept spying on me out of the corner of his right eye. He would retrieve things from his bag, in an effort to bring attention to himself, so I began to glance over occasionally just to let him know I was curious too.

He read the local paper for about 40 seconds, took a few pictures of the trees next to us, and kept muttering how late the bus always was. Kelly was humorous to watch. I thought I should break the ice and ask him something so I muttered, "Are you a photographer?" He responded, "Oh, yes! I take lots of pictures." It was then that his attention was diverted away by three attractive women arriving. The women proceeded to walk past the stop and into the Starbucks beside us, Kelly looked disappointed.

After finding out some details of Kelly's life, our bus arrived and we both boarded. Taking seats at separate ends of the bus, Kelly and I didn't speak again. I got off at my stop and watched the bus whir away into traffic. What a strange 20 minutes.

Upon my return to campus I mentioned my encounter to a co-worker. He was amused and shared with me that he knew Kelly and his parents. He shared the following story about Kelly which really made my chance encounter more rewarding:

He said that Kelly was a wrestler in highschool. He wrestled for Steamboat's team in a weight class that didn't have another wrestler in it. One meet, Kelly ironically had to face the county champion who had a perfect record (72 and 0). Before the match the coach from the opposing team took his top wrestler aside and informed him that he would wrestle Kelly (with Downs Syndrome) and that he should take it easy on him. Then, the match began...

This other wrestler, who would likely have gone undefeated all season, took his first and only loss that day. It was not necessarily the prowess of Kelly on the mat, but a young champion wrestler who decided that Kelly needed a win as much as he did that day and he handed Kelly the victory.

Never before had Kelly won, and afterward strutted around the gymnasium elated that he had beaten the top wrestler in the county. I am not sure it made the paper, but it certainly spread word of mouth around town. Kelly was a champion.

Not sure how this story meets you today. Not sure if you are proud of the champion wrestler, or upset because he gave a freebie to Kelly, exploiting him publicly. I was just thankful to meet some of Steamboat's History at the local bus stop today. You never know who you might see, if we only were privy to the stories all around us.