Piece Comment

Review of Bus Driver-Short Version


This piece is part of Richard Paul’s series, “People Who Work.” It offers a glimpse into how this bus driver, Carmen Costello, performs her job seriously, and also makes time to enjoy it. The producer certainly brings the sounds of driving a bus to the fore, but I wish he had edited more of her narration to be self-contained. Instead, it has a question and answer quality that can get in the listener’s way. Her statements about being proud to drive bus and caring about the passengers as much as she cares for her own children are moving.

The producer offers a shorter version of this piece, and I prefer it. I like its tautness. Programmers would be able to bundle the series better with the short pieces.