5°c Partly cloudy
16°c Isolated showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Bus driver walks the (charity) walk
Giving away shoes to homeless man is second nature to Good Samaritan
Winnipeg Transit driver Kris Doubledee gave his leather shoes to a homeless man. He doesn't consider it a selfless act. He says anyone would do the same. (PHIL HOSSACK/ WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
Winnipeg's most famous bus driver claims he didn't do anything remarkable when he pulled his bus over Tuesday morning, hopped off and gave a homeless man his shoes. He habitually helps people and believes the rest of us do the same.
"I just do it because you've got two arms and two legs and you use them every day. You've got one heart and you should use it every day, too," Kris Doubledee said Wednesday night.
Doubledee, 38, was driving the No. 24 bus down Portage Avenue near Fort Street early Tuesday morning when he spotted the barefoot man on the sidewalk. He'd seen him the day before, shoeless.
"I just couldn't imagine him going through that," Doubledee said. "It was cold, maybe seven degrees and he was barefoot. I had to help him. Anyone would have done it."
He pulled the bus over and got out to speak to the man. He estimates the stranger to be in his mid-40s, with shoulder-length hair worn in dreadlocks.
"I asked him, 'Do you have any shoes?' He said 'No.' I said, 'If I give you a pair of shoes, will you keep them?' He said he would."
So Doubledee pulled off his good leather shoes, the ones his wife bought him four years ago at the Bay. They were meant to keep his feet comfortable during long hours on the job. He got back on the bus and finished the last two hours of his shift in his stocking feet.
"I couldn't imagine him walking a mile without shoes," the driver said. "I couldn't imagine how cold he was."
Doubledee got a small taste of the discomfort, walking shoeless back to his car at the end of his shift.
He has a deep faith in God that guides his day-to-day actions, he says. He'll often offer up prayers for the people he sees.
"It's kind of a thing with me. I see somebody with a disability or a need, I try to take their pain away or pray they find relief."
He prayed the first time he saw the shoeless man. When he saw him the second day, he thought that was a sign to get involved.
"The first time I saw him I asked the Lord 'Can you take his pain away?' The next day, it's like God put him there. I pulled over the bus. I knew I had to help him."
Doubledee doesn't belong to a church or really have much to do with organized religion. He's got his beliefs, he's got his moral compass and he's the best man he can be.
He says he offers up a prayer every time someone takes the Lord's name in vain. He will politely ask passengers to tone down profanity on the bus. If you do it right, he says, they'll comply.
Doubledee says he didn't stop to think about whether driving without shoes was dangerous or a bad idea. He wouldn't speculate about the possible danger.
"I really don't have an answer to that," he said. "My main concern was for his well-being. I couldn't imagine walking barefoot. You could tell he was already in pain."
Doubledee is convinced every other Winnipeg Transit employee would have done the same thing, or has helped a Winnipegger in another way. He hasn't yet talked to his bosses about his altruistic act.
There's something wonderfully innocent about Doubledee and his conviction we all go out of our way to comfort the troubled and the afflicted. We don't, most of us, not for strangers on the street or even casual acquaintances. He's the same guy who once helped an old lady lug four full suitcases onto the bus at the airport, got her to her stop and had a responsible-looking stranger sit with her until the woman's son could to pick her up.
He did it because she needed help and he has a heart he likes to use.
The homeless man may have already sold the shoes or had them stolen. That doesn't matter to Doubledee. He saw a need and he handed over his good leather shoes to fill it. He'll do it again if he sees a need.
He believes you would, too.
lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 20, 2012 A4
More Local
- Back to Top
- Return to Local
More Local
(1 of 20 articles for today)
Jockey club launches $350-M civil suit against province
1:00 AM 0THE Manitoba Jockey Club is continuing its fight for survival, launching civil actions against the Selinger government, Finance Minister Stan ...
About Lindor Reynolds
National Newspaper Award winner Lindor Reynolds began work at the Free Press as a 17-year-old proofreader. It was a rough introduction to the news business.
Many years later, armed with a university education and a portfolio of published work, she was hired as a Free Press columnist. During her 20-plus years on the job she has written for every section in the paper, with the exception of Business. She’ll get around to them some day.
Lindor has received considerable recognition for her writing. Her awards include the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ general interest award and the North American Travel Journalists Association top prize.
Her work on Internet luring led to an amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada and her coverage of the child welfare system prompted a change to Manitoba Child and Family Services Act to make the safety of children paramount.
She has earned three citations of merit for the Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism and has been awarded a Distinguished Alumni commendation from the University of Winnipeg. Lindor was also named a YMCA/YWCA Woman of Distinction.
She is married with four daughters. If her house was on fire and the kids and dog were safe, she’d grab her passport.
lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca
Poll
Most Popular Local
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Housing a little more expensive in Manitoba: RBC
- Lake St. Martin reserve close to getting new home
- Some good news, some bad news from weatherman
- 'I told them, "I think that guy downstairs is dead"': teen witness at murder trial
- Jockey club launches $350-M civil suit against province
- Drug dealer sentenced to 3½ years in prison
- Manitoba senators weigh in on scandal
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Police identify slaying victims
- Apple trick on Ellen falls short for city woman
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- 'Responsible Winnipeg' ads appear on sign run by mayor-owned Goldeyes' baseball park
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- A child-custody catastrophe
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Co-worker 'sick' today? Maybe it's the $17M flu
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- '2 minutes after I read the winning numbers, I retired': Winnipeg lotto winner
- Parents, community relieved and elated as missing boy found safe
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Man missing since 2009 found safe
- Baby steps toward empathy
- U of M president targets low tuition
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- City chiropractor guilty of beating, sexually assaulting ex-girlfriend
- Drug dealer sentenced to 3½ years in prison
- New units to help keep invasive aquatic species out of province
- Housing a little more expensive in Manitoba: RBC
- Jockey club launches $350-M civil suit against province
- New provincial restrictions on buying cigarettes
- Lake St. Martin reserve close to getting new home
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Fishing for fashion
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Core grocer a challenge: expert
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- North End proud
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- Bethania CEO put on leave during investigation
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Mental-health patients get own ER
- A child-custody catastrophe
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Steen invests $1M in family entertainment centre
- Earls on Main going, but new one coming
- Province introduces changes to rules governing landlords, renters
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Boost same-sex curricula: union
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.