Bus driver honored for kindness – Mayor spotted MBTA worker helping blind passenger
By Noah Bierman – Globe Staff / October 10, 2009

Bus driver Eddie Earle didn’t think he was doing anything special Thursday morning when he pulled his bus over, got out, and escorted a blind passenger across the street.

“I pick this man up at Perkins Street,’’ Earle said. “He’s a regular rider.’’

Earle believes the passenger’s name is Rick, but confesses he is not certain. Rick usually sits at the front of the Route 39 bus that runs between the Forest Hills and Back Bay subway stations. The two men usually discuss baseball and other local topics. Rick then tells the bus driver where he needs to be dropped off, and Earle helps him on his way.

But Earle had no idea that his regular ritual was being observed Thursday. Mayor Thomas M. Menino and his press secretary, Dot Joyce, said they happened to be whizzing by in a city sport utility vehicle.

“This bus driver stopped his bus, walked across the street, got this guy by the hand, walked him across the street,’’ Menino said. “I thought that was very special.’’

Joyce called MBTA officials with the bus number and asked that the driver be identified and be given a commendation.

Yesterday, Earle got two surprise calls: one from a T manager, telling him the mayor had asked that a commendation be added to his personnel file and a second call from Menino himself.

“I’m shocked, yes,’’ Earle said. “Eyes are always watching you. That’s just the way my mother brought me up.’’

The Quad – Homesickness 101: ‘Naked Roommate’ author’s tips on surviving first months at college
By Globe Staff – October 10, 2009

By now in the fall semester, college students are settling into a routine, attending classes, adjusting to new roommates, and making new friends. But for many living away from home for the first time, homesickness creeps in during these first months. MetroDesk’s Roy Greene caught up with Harlan Cohen, author of the best-seller “The Naked Roommate, and 107 Other Issues You Might Run into in College” (Sourcebooks), for advice on dealing with homesickness.

Q. What are some coping skills for freshmen suffering from the usual pangs of homesickness?

A. Recognize that getting homesick is totally normal. About two-thirds of students admitting feeling homesick. Like a bad breakup, it passes over time.

The cure to homesickness isn’t at home. The most common mistake is that parents tend to rescue students from homesickness or students run home every weekend to be rescued. Things like being active in campus life, being patient, shifting expectations, working slowly to make friends, reaching out to professors and res life staff, focusing on a date to visit home, staying active, and allowing oneself to feel it ALL helps. Homesickness is a symptom of a student not finding his or her place. The antidote is to create new connections on campus. But this takes time.

Care packages, pictures from home for a student to post, and understanding parents can helpful. Of course, if a student’s health is in danger, a visit to campus or a visit home could be in order. But generally, homesickness will pass.

Q. What about the colleges themselves? Are schools doing anything new to ease the transition?