My everlasting memory of Willie's kindness toward me and my grandma.
The story of a little girl and her grandmother on the way to the most exciting place in the whole wide world. The place where my Titi lived.
Frequently after work on Friday's Willie would head for our place to pick up my grandma and me. It would be a 3 transfer train trip lasting about an hour and a half; the distance between Brookyn and The Bronx. He would look around to find available seats on the rush hour crowded train. Once he spotted one, he would quickly usher my grandma to it balancing himself and her, as the train sped appearing to bounce back and forth and side to side. Next, he would find mine. I knew he had found the spot for me when I saw the smile on his face.
He just loved to read the paper on the train, he struggled standing in the crowd trying to hold the perfectly folded paper while he held on to the leather strap above (old trains of the past). I always wondered how he managed that.
I couldn't contain my excitement so I repeatedly tugged at his pant leg to ask "Is it long to go?" I did that quite a lot and even though he only wanted to read his paper without interruption, he never responded with a stern look or a sharp remark. He would smile and say "soon, soon just a few more stops".
At last, Boston Road up ahead. He would guide my grandma off the train making sure her tiny shoe wasn't caught in the wide gap between train and platform and held my hand to ensure I wasn't left behind.
That memory of long ago will stay with me the rest of my life. Thank you Willie for those moments in time.
