Hot Digity!
Task 34, August 29 to Sept. 6
“Wherever we are, it is our friends that make our world”. Henry Drummond
JEFF’S NOTE: an average person interacts with tens of thousands of other people over the course of their lives. On top of that list, in terms of interactions, are of course your family and friends and probably your co-workers. Most of the others are circumstantial and/or transactional by nature. But I would be willing to bet that all of us have had at least one entirely unexpected relationship with a person that we never planned on, and will never forget. Paul had one such friend. Here’s his story.
In my second career, as an employee of Southwest Airlines, I found myself in Dallas (the company headquarters) a number of times, mostly for training.
The first time I went, some ten years ago, I was nervous. I was, after all, practically a senior citizen in my new field, and it had been a long time since I was required to train for a job. That day, as I walked out of the Love Field terminal, I looked around apprehensively for the bus that I was supposed to take to the hotel. Suddenly there it was in front of me–the Southwest bus, piloted (so to speak) by Louis Butler, who smiled and gestured to me to get on the bus. His smile and his generosity of spirit were inspiring, and we became friends.
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As a backdrop, and something of an explanation: when I was a kid I would ride the city bus with my grandmother to work; and there was this bus driver, Jack, whose bus was supposed to drop me near my school, but Jack, worried about my safety, would drop me off on the school playground; and maybe my favorite bus driver was the one I met in the South of England when i was on vacation with my parents–he let me help him wash the bus.
So I was pre-disposed to like Louis, and he didn’t disappoint. On Louis’ bus you were never a stranger, you were never unwelcome and never ignored. He had two go-to sayings: Hot Diggity Dog and Move That Bus, the former a joyous exhortation; the latter was said to encourage you.
He dressed smartly and sported a cap. Louie was liked by everyone he encountered: the pilots, mechanics, flight attendants and all the Southwest ground employees he transported in Dallas.
Louis was a talker and I liked to listen. Over time I got to know him, and looked forward to seeing him. When I was living in Dallas for inflight training. I rode with Louis at all times of the day and night, and even though the rides were only 5-10 minutes long, he always had words about hope and thankfulness.
Much of his inspiration came from his religious nature. He was a churchgoer and proud of it. One day I asked Louis if I could go to church with him. He was SO happy. He picked me up at 6am in his big pickup truck (it’s Texas after all) and we spent the day together, including an after service breakfast with friends. That was when I realized I had my best friend in Louis.
After my training my trips to Dallas were more infrequent, and I heard that he’d had some issue on the job. His company (it was a transport company, not Southwest) pulled a move on him because of his age. So the next time I had an overnight in Dallas I asked him to dinner.
And guess what? The company hired him back when the new drivers proved to be inept, so Louis is back and now driving pilots in training to and from Love Field to the hotel. No matter who you are at Southwest Airlines, if Louis has touched you in some way, and believe me, he touched my soul, and I will never forget him.
I thought that if Southwest had any sense they’d give Louis Butler an honorary Southwest award for showing a true Servant's Heart. Louis is an Ambassador for Southwest like no other. And evidently they did: Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, wrote to Louis and thanked him for his presence and for his influence on new hires. Louis finally retired from driving, and today in his 70’s runs a successful landscaping business.