“So I ran back to the bus, and I said, 'Sweetie, your restaurant is right here.'”

New York City bus operator Ronald Ruiz remembers one of his passengers on the City Island line in the Bronx.

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Recorded in New York, NY

Credits

Produced by Sarah Kramer.

Facilitated by Brett Meyers.

Transcript

Click here to read the transcript for this story.

Interview transcript

Ronald Ruiz (RR): I remember one woman in particular, a senior, who had gotten on my bus, and she seemed completely lost. I could see she was confused. I don't know whether it was an illness, but she looked so beautiful. For a hot summer day to have her fur on... So I said, Are you okay? And she said, I'm fine. I'm fine, but I don't know what restaurant I'm meeting my friends. I said, You sit on the bus, I'll run in, and I'll check each restaurant. The very, very last one on the left, I said, It's got to be this one. So I said, Stay here sweetie, it's nice and cool in here. I went in and said, There's a lady on the bus, and she's not sure the restaurant. And I saw a whole bunch of other seniors there and they said, Oh it's probably her! So, I ran back to the bus. I said, Sweetie, your restaurant is right here. And I said, No, no, don't move. And I grabbed her hand. I remember my right hand grabbed her right hand. I wanted to make her feel special, like it's a limousine it's a bus. She said she felt like Cinderella. And she said, I've been diagnosed with cancer, and today is the best day of my life. Just because I helped her off the bus. And I never forgot that woman.