School Bus Driver Buys PJ’s for Boy on Pajama Day
This act of kindness turned tears into a smile.
Going to school on a special day like “Pajama Day” is usually a happy event. After all, kids get to show off their favorite superhero or princess PJs and there are special activities to enjoy. But for one first grader who didn’t have pajamas to wear to school, it was a very unhappy day until his bus driver came to the rescue, according to a press release from the Jefferson county public school district in Kentucky.
Turning a sad day around
Friday February 8 was not a typical day on JCPS bus driver Larry Farrish Jr’s route. On that morning, Farrish noticed that something was very different about one of his charges. One of his students, a first grader named Levi – from Engelhard Elementary School – who always flashes a big smile in the morning seemed very down in the dumps.
“I pulled up to the bus stop, and I saw Levi sitting down by himself with his head down, and it dawned on me, something is wrong,” Farrish said in the press release. “He’s always happy, but this particular day, he was not happy.”
In fact, the boy was crying. When Farrish – who the kids call Mr Larry – asked Levi what was wrong, Levi looked up at the bus driver and told him that he didn’t have pajamas for Pajama Day.
“It hurt me so bad,” Farrish said. “That just wasn’t my Levi, and I wanted him to have a good day. No child should have to miss out on something as small as pajama day.”
Farrish decided that he had to fix this, reported TODAY. So after his morning route was finished, he headed to Family Dollar and purchased a few pairs of pajamas and headed back to the elementary school. He wasn’t sure what size the boy wore.
Levi was so excited by the gift that he hugged them close to his chest. His face was as happy as it could be.
“I can tell Mr Larry is nice and his heart is filled with joy,” Levi said in the press release. “When he got me the pajamas, I did a happy cry.”
More than just a job
Farrish began driving a school bus seven years ago, according to the press release. He picked the position to be able to have weekends and summers off, the former truck driver and corrections officer said. But it quickly turned into a passion.
Farrish loves connecting to the kids on his route. “They become my kids after they leave their parents,” Farrish said. “I make sure they get to and from school safe, but I also try to bring some type of joy to their lives.”
Since the school district posted his kind act on Facebook, the response has been overwhelming. Although Farrish is not active on social media, people went out of their way to contact him and let him know the impact he has had on not just Levi but on so many of the students he has driven to school over the years.
“For people to actually be able to find me and reach out on behalf of such a small gesture, it made me cry,” Farrish said. “It feels good knowing I made an impact on a child’s life.”
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