The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
Today’s something good is a feel-good Father’s Day story.
California dad Rick Daynes has a son named Eli who is special needs – he has autism and Down Syndrome. The bus he rides with seven other students is often delayed, sometimes significantly, due to the nationwide bus driver shortage. Instead of just griping about the inconvenience of his kid having to wait an hour or two to get to school, Rick decided to do something about it. Rick has a flexible work schedule so when he found out that a morning bus route was from 6:00 – 9:00 am, he decided to squeeze in driving a bus route into his already full work schedule and lucked into driving his son’s route.
After a couple months of extensive training, Rick passed his tests and surprised Eli on May 3 when he picked him up. “I was so nervous the night before. It was like Christmas morning,” Rick told Today.
Eli was thrilled to find his dad behind the wheel. “My wife told him, ‘Daddy is driving the bus!’ and he was so excited, he started flapping his hands,” said Rick.
Rick takes his job as bus driver very seriously and makes the ride to school special for each of the students. “We’d sing or each kid chose the music — they usually liked the soundtracks from ‘Frozen,’ ‘The Little Mermaid’ or ‘Moana,'” he said.
It’s always nice to see a dad with a “W”, as they say, and today we celebrate all the fathers who go above and beyond and who earn a win as they usher their kids into adulthood. Happy Father’s Day to all of you great dads out there!
Now it’s your turn… Tell me something good! Feel free to post about your own father or a man who stepped into the role of father.
