Mr. Wonderful, also known as Floyd Thurston, has been driving Metro buses since 1979. He earned his nickname through his kindness to his passengers, often letting homeless passengers sleep through his entire route until his shift ends at 3 a.m.

...he likes the title Mr. Wonderful because among the other drivers, nobody really knows who Mr. Wonderful is and he thinks other drivers might assume the title and the role, which would spread the kindness. Mr. Wonderful says the reason he smiles and listens to people who bend his ear is he was raised right.

"When they raise you, they raise you to be kind. You see people in need, you try to help and if you can't help, you do the best you can. When I was coming up, people around me always were doing for each other. People were just different. The strong should help the weak."

( Mr. Wonderful/Go to Sleep )

...a Baraka recruiter tells potential students that they face three options: an orange jumpsuit and "nice bracelets"; a black suit and a brown box; or a black gown, a cap and a high school diploma. If they want the last, she says, they should sign up for Kenya.

[...]

"The teachers forced us to learn, and they were there for you 24/7—that was mainly it," Devon said. And the atmosphere in Kenya, he said, "was not violence or cursing or hatred, it was calm and quiet and nice." The location also ensured that costs were lower than in Baltimore, and that boys could not easily run away.

[...]

"I think that people think a kid from Baltimore's supposed to grow up to be nothing. That we ain't got no future, simply because we from the ghetto. I'm going to try and make a difference."

( From Baltimore's Streets to Kenya and Back )

Things were all right until Reggie White's grandfather moved away, leaving the 16-year-old and his grandmother to get by on her retirement money and his after-school job at Hardee's.

[...]

His grandmother started wandering off. She couldn't go to church anymore. Her hair got ragged. Her strength and her polish and her smile disappeared.

They couldn't afford the car anymore, so White said he would walk the two miles or so after school to work and walk home after midnight when his shift ended. He was exhausted and scared that everything he had worked so hard for his whole life was going to be lost.

He kept thinking of how much his grandmother wanted him to go to college. He kept wondering how he would afford tuition on his own and who would take care of his grandmother if he left.

( Access to a Dream )