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UPSTATE NEW YORK — It takes a village to raise a child.
I’m going to get personal here and say that I always thought the statement above was a little cheesy. But after seeing this video, the saying clicked for me in a way it never has before.
So I repeat: It takes a village to raise a child. And part of that raising sometimes has to be saving.
Just ask this Norwich City school bus driver, Samantha Call. In the video, she stops to drop off one of her kids, and according to the video description (and Call’s own reaction in the video), the stop arm was out and the red lights were flashing.
That didn’t stop a car from illegally speeding around the right side of the bus on the shoulder of the road.
Luckily, Call was paying close attention. As quickly as she opened the bus doors, she shut them, yelled the boy’s name (Matt!), and grabbed onto the less-observant teen before he could rush down the stairs.
It’s a moment that could’ve ended in serious injury or death, but quick and calm thinking from Call, a member of Matt’s "village," saved him from harm.
To keep it personal, I remember my bus driver at that age; her name was Peaches. I remember being a dumb teen in junior high and looking down on her even as she worked every day to keep us safe. But when I look back, I also remember that she tried to make us laugh, and she would change the radio station if we asked her to. There’s a reason I remember her and not any other bus driver I had.
So, if you’re out there Peaches, thanks to you. And thanks to Samantha Call for doing everything you each could to protect your village.
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