The God of Small Things

That title of a book sticks in my mind and pops up occassionally. Like today.

The small things: finishing a book, not having to run to catch the Metra and a happy shuttle bus driver

Last night I finished an incredible book called the Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini. This is an incredible book. It's a coming-of-age story about two boys in Afghanistan. It's a moving story that reveals an Afghanistan that I wasn't too familiar with but was. If you need something to read--read this. I could not put the book down and finished it in 3 days. And then I dreamt about the characters. That's when you know a book's made an impression on you--when you start dreaming about the characters as if they are real people in your life.

All week I've been riding the Metra 'cos I'm having car issues. Most days (as Jewell will atest to) I have to run to catch the Metra 'cos I'm always running late. I didn't have to do that today. Yippee. Once I got to my destination (the Lake Bluff stop) and onto my shuttle bus to get to work, I found a very happy shuttle bus driver. Here is this man whose job is to drive people from the train station to Abbott Park (my place of employment) and maybe to drive people in-between buildings around the Abbott campus. That's it folks. He sits behind the wheel of this shuttle bus day after day driving around people. But, I tell you, he could not be happier doing it. I got on the bus to find "Mellow Yellow" by Donovan blasting on the radio and a very happy driver greeting each and everyone of us with a smile and "Good Morning! Great to see you! Welcome aboard!" The only other person who made such an impression on me was the toll booth collector whom I haven't seen in years. He was such a happy person collecting toll. Their happiness puts my life in perspective for me.

It's really all about the small things and a good attitude. On that note, here's to a happy Wednesday! (At least until I take my car to the mechanic and he tells me what the damage will be.)