Frank wanted to save lives. He joined the army hoping to become a paramedic and help soldiers injured in combat. But then he thought about his wife and kids. He thought that what he wanted was to save lives and not to take them just because he would be ordered to. When he realized this, he talked to his captain, who told him he didn't need to be in the service to help others, to be useful to the community as he wanted to. And so Frank got into the Community College, which coincidentally was training the same group of soldiers he would have been a part of.
He became a paramedic and worked with the Emergency Response teams for several years. When he is asked about how he got into it, he says it was destiny. He didn't have to go to war. He thinks about the veterans, and how they never get to be the same when they return. He wonders what would have happened to him, if he would still be out there in combat facing death. Cause he says no matter what, no matter how long you have been doing this, there is so much you get to see, that you can never get used to it. Deep down, there is always something that hurts. Even when we have to be tough, he says, we are still human beings, we have feelings.
Now he drives a bus. He says it was too much pressure, and there is nothing like being happy, living happy and relaxed. And every single morning, like he has done for the past two years, he stops, a minute sooner, a minute later, at the designated places and greets his passengers with a big smile and tells them stories, with an enthusiastic voice that sounds like he is really glad and thankful to be alive for one more day. And you can almost see the shining of his bright pure soul reflected in the rearview mirror, as he drives away while you try to catch some sleep during the morning commute.
