My phone had two percent when I hopped on the bus, so I tucked it into the front pocket of my backpack and settled into the comfy blue upholstery of the bus with my book, bag and water bottle nestled beside me. 15 short minutes later I tugged the yellow cord, grabbed my backpack and shouted “Merry Christmas!” as I walked out of the back door, and began the brisk march home, warming my hands in my sleeves along the way. As I was greeted by the warm air, I plugged my phone in to see I had two missed calls and a voicemail from an unknown 202 number. Intrigued, I listened carefully: “Hi Ms. Wilson, this is the M4 operator and you left your water bottle. You can give me a call back and try to catch me,” she said. I was shocked. Not that I had lost the water bottle, I had only written my name and phone number on my bright turquoise hydro flask earlier that week, after having left it at Starbucks, a recent NHS meeting, and room 301. I was surprised by the fact that someone would take time out of their work day to return a somewhat meaningless object to a total stranger. It’s always such an immensely pleasant surprise to experience total kindness from someone you don’t know. For that, I rate my encounter with this lovely bus driver an absolute five out of five.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS