Why? Well one day when we got off work at the same time I saw him standing at the bus stop as I left the area, so I dove into the parking lot there and asked which way he heads home, thinking I might be able to give him a ride in that direction. We settled on the transit hub a couple of miles from where I live, he said that cuts a big chunk of time off his trip, and it was only like less than 10 minutes out of my way.
When he told me where he lived, at first I didn't really think of it in terms of a bus ride...I mean if I were to get in my car and drive there from home, it would take maybe 15, 20 minutes tops.
After I got home I started thinking about it, since I haven't ridden the bus since I was a teen. The online tools for planning your ride are great now, just click on the map and tell it where you wanna start, end, what time you want to leave or arrive, and it barfs up an itinerary with stops and routes and times.
But here's the kicker...it takes him 2 hours and 25 minutes(!) on a bus to cover what would be a 20-25 minute drive in a car. So he's in for almost 5 hours of bus time to come work a 5 hour a day part time job, not to mention the "buffer time" of showing up half an hour early due to bus scheduling, and waiting for the bus on the way home...it's actually more time out of his day than that.
A big part of the problem there is there's no direct way on the bus to head in the direction he needs to go from home...the bus he has to take makes a big ridiculous loop all over the north side of the county before coming back south and even beginning to head the right direction.Obviously things can change throughout the day, so he's prepared, in terms of weather, hunger, and boredom. That's why he lugs all that gear around. Again, a car is a big luxury we take for granted.
And the bus costs $6/day to ride, more than gas would cost.
So I told him when we get out of work at the same time, I'll just run him home. Jeez, my car gets 35-40 mpg, and it only takes a few extra minutes out of my evening. Small price to pay to give someone over two hours of their life back, no? He offered to give me the $3 he'd give the bus on the way home, but I'm not worried about that. Glad he offered though.
I like this guy. He's a solid individual. Just the bus ride thing impressed me.
We talk about stuff. We got to talking about women and he had an interesting take, for a guy in his position. He told me all the women he knows are stuck on nothing but clubbing and sex and 'hood drama. That's all they know, it's all they aspire to. He says he wants more than that for himself, and wishes he could find a woman with similar aspirations. He knows the world is bigger than north STL County and he wants to get his piece of it.
If he keeps up the way he is, I have no doubt he will.
He said he's teased the idea of going to truck driving school, but admits he's intimidated by the manual shifting. He's fascinated with my car (5 spd stick) because he's never driven one, nor known anyone who had one. I told him I'm gonna teach him how to drive it. He seems pretty amped about that.
He's also batting around military service. I think he'd probably do well there. Like I said, quick learner and got an uncommon level of self-discipline.
It's good to see that all hope is not lost. And I specifically don't mean as far as black people. I mean young people. I never found my direction as a young guy, and as such I've had trouble putting any kind of discipline in my son. He's turned out WAY better than I did, but I still wish he had half the determination and discipline this guy does.
5 hours on a bus every day. I'd lose my goddamn mind.
,...and that you took Personal Initiative and Action that made his life better catapults you to a position of GREAT Respect in My Book. 
MORS TYRANNIS 
(putt putt putt)