More than a :-)
By Kelly
Morris '04
Personal
interaction is becoming an endangered trait.
So many people
today prefer e-mailing or calling instead of meeting face-to-face. Nearly
gone are the days where you can laugh with friends and actually see them
laugh with you.
But there
are exceptions, and I met a special one during TCU LEAPS, the university's
annual community service day.
His name
is Anton Watkins, and he wasn't a TCU student or a registered volunteer.
He was the bus driver who took 28 volunteers to the Stonegate Nursing
Center, one of the day's 26 sites.
 At
the center, volunteers put up Halloween decorations and visited with residents
in their rooms and common areas.
When the
group arrived, Anton was told to meet them back in front of the center
in two hours. He could have agreed and bought some coffee. Read a paper.
After all, it was still only 9:30 in the morning.
But Anton
wouldn't have it that way. He wanted to volunteer, too. So he stood in
the hallway of the nursing home, the only volunteer not wearing a TCU
LEAPS t-shirt, laughing and smiling just as much as the resident sitting
beside him in her wheelchair. He was a listening ear and a companion.
As we entered
the nursing home, each volunteer received a friendship bracelet to wear.
Anton quickly gave his to one of the residents, telling her, "You're my
friend."
"I just want
to bring some sunshine to the group," he said. "I'm a people person. You
help out when you can."
Anton did
more than just bring sunshine to the residents of the Stonegate Nursing
Center. He restored my faith in the human spirit and our need to experience
life with others face-to-face.
Kelly
is The TCU Magazine intern. Contact her at k.l.morris@tcu.edu.
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