The Conductor
Denton Dabbs enlisted in the Naval Air Corps in 1942. His hometown was Chattanooga, Tennessee, and his first assignments were to bases in Alabama during the different stages of his training. After a few weeks at Cortland, he spent three months at Montgomery for pre-flight instruction, and then ended up at Decatur for flight school. All these towns lay along the Southern Railway’s main line from Memphis to Chattanooga. On weekend leaves he had the way to get home, if not the funds to pay for all the trips he would have liked. This problem was unexpectedly solved on his first trip.
Soon after boarding the train at Cortland the conductor observed his uniform and asked him if he was going home on leave. Denton told him that he was. The conductor then told him to keep his ticket, that he might want to use it again. The same conductor extended that privilege as long as the train rides continued. Denton Dabbs would never forget this small kindness.
I still remember the old gentleman who was the conductor on that train and how nice he was to me. He made his job pleasant by being friendly with all of the passengers. I can still picture his face and his conductor’s uniform with shiny brass buttons and the little bill-cap he wore on his head. Somehow he knew I was just a kid in a topsy-turvy world torn apart by the war, going home to see someone I loved. He might have had kids of his own out there somewhere, but somehow he knew that little piece of paper I held in my hand was important to me and maybe I would get another chance to visit home. He was a kind old gentleman and I shall always remember him.331
Jesus told his disciples that he would remember those in heaven who were kind to him when he was in need. His listeners wondered: What could they possibly do to help the Son of God? We wonder the same thing and are not even sure how we would recognize him if we saw him. Jesus gave us the simple answer. We serve him when we serve those we meet every day.
I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
—Matthew 25:40