Fulfilling One’s Duty Is Also Appreciated

Like so many other days, this Friday after fulfilling some commitments in the city of Matanzas, I headed to the terminal to return home.

As on other occasions, the day became complicated due to transportation disruptions caused by fuel shortages and the crowding of people at the stops.

Despite many saying when asking for the last spot: «That’s wishful thinking, boy; here, when something comes in, it’s every man for himself, and the line always ends up broken,» I still have that old habit of respecting who goes first because they had been waiting for a long time.

Among the crowd, a man replies to me: «Young man, I’m the last one; I’m behind the guy in the blue cap, who in turn is after the one in the plaid shirt.» I nod in understanding and get ready to wait and see what happens.

The line began to shrink thanks to the effective action of the inspector, ensuring that state vehicles stop and collaborate to move passengers.

After a while of waiting, with the heat that accompanies this time of year, I see in the distance a yellow tricycle of the ten-peso kind. To be honest, at times it seemed like a mirage to me, because in my recent travels through the city, I haven’t had the luck of coming across any that cover the Terminal–Peñas Altas route.

To my dismay and that of many who had been waiting for something, the driver of the tricycle, who came intending to pick up passengers heading to Peñas Altas, suddenly decided to change his itinerary.

The inspector asked, and the driver replied that he was on his lunch break and had finished his workday (it was barely 11:30 in the morning).

After a good while of debate, the exchange of words concluded without a change in the driver’s attitude.

Personally, I felt represented by the inspector, who, far from pretending not to see, went to mediate so that the driver wouldn’t deviate from his route and people could leave.

It happens that just as a public official who does not fulfill their duty is questioned for their bad attitude, in the same way, it is appreciated when they fulfill their function.

The situation, which is not exclusive to one day or one area of the city, leads me to several questions: Can a driver alter his route by personal decision? Who controls that they comply with their route?

In times when values such as solidarity and brotherhood are fading, attitudes like that of the inspector reaffirm our confidence in the fulfillment of duty.