A Bus Driver Makes Efforts to Lift the Spirits of His Passengers
By Bobby Kushner / September 3, 2002
DETROIT, MICH. -- The rumble of Burton Cummings' baritone voice shakes the windows of the bus.
The bus driver dons a toque, from the Canadian band The Guess Who, and smiles.
David Murphy, a Wayne State University Law School bus driver and Canadian boxer, enjoys doing something extra to lift the spirits of his passengers
A passenger of Murphy's recalls Murphy handing out every Friday Canadian Eat-More candy bars to every passenger.
"A little effort to make others smile in this cruel world goes along ways," Murphy says.
Murphy also tries never to play the same CD twice in one day.
"I always take music requests from my passengers, but I'm always partial to anything Burton Cummings or The Guess Who," Murphy says as he tears open the wrapper for an Eat-More candy bar.
David Murphy began driving buses for Wayne State University Law School when he started in January 2002 his boxing training camp at the Kronk Gym and needed extra money.
He plans to keep driving buses for the law school until his training camp ends or until he jokingly finds a wife.
"Who knows!" Murphy chuckles. "Maybe oneday, my future bride will board my bus."
A Boy Holds Hostage a Detroit Police Officer with a Toy Gun
By Bobby Kushner / August 23, 2002
DETROIT, MICH. -- Detroit Police Officer Kevin Price felt the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head while he refueled his police vehicle at a gas station.
“Hands up before I shoot!” a voice said from behind Price.
“I never saw who it was or knew what was happening,” Price says. "but felt that I likely won't walk away from this."
Price then wrestled the suspect to the ground and handcuffed him. However, the suspect was a 10-year-old boy and the gun a replica toy gun.
“It looked like a Smith & Wesson pistol to me. But it was thankfully a metal-cap gun,” Price said.
The 10-year-old boy was charged with assaulting a police officer with a weapon and held with no bail.
High-risk Behaviors Linked to Attention Deficit Disorder
By Bobby Kushner / November 25, 2016
GUELPH, ONT. -- Feeling overwhelmed by ever-growing responsibilities at home, sudden changes at work and lack of sleep – Thomas Johnston destroyed everything in his home.
When police arrived at his residence, he looked at his wife.
“I want the police to kill me,” Johnston said before grabbing a replica gun, charging out the door and pointing it at police.
Thomas Johnston , 45, was arrested then taken to a psychiatric hospital in Guelph.
“When overwhelmed, I have sometimes reacted this way since a 12-year-old boy,” Johnston says.
A growing number of people, admitted to psychiatric hospitals for high-risk behaviors, are being diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) instead of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
“When someone’s not hearing voices, doesn’t have racing thoughts and isn’t awake for days – a more logical explanation for these behaviors is ADD,” Dr. Shuang Xu says, a psychiatrist at Homewood Health Centre. “especially if these individuals struggled with impulsive behaviors since childhood.”
According to information from the Canadian Mental Health Association, impulsive behaviors begin in childhood for ADD patients. But for schizophrenic and bipolar disorder patients, they begin in adulthood.
Dr. Xu explained, ADD is often difficult to diagnose in adults because most patients aren’t forthcoming about their struggle with impulsive behaviors during childhood.
“This is frequently why many adults with ADD are misdiagnosed as being bipolar or schizophrenic,” Dr. Xu says.
“Uncontrolled anger, mood shifts and other impulsive behaviors are also key traits in biopolar disorder and schizophrenia, not just ADD.”
Johnston is learning to cope with his disorder by attending dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) programs at Homewood Health Centre.
He is also prescribed Concerta, a stimulant used for treating ADD.
“An uncle of mine told me. I’ll live a hard life,” Johnston says. “if I continue destroying the things I’ve worked very hard to get when overwhelmed.”
THERAPY OPTIONS
Two therapy options for ADD individuals wanting to better manage stressful life events
2. Reaction Inc sells the basic-model Exo unit for $5,000
Michael McDaniel, the founder of Reaction Inc, designed the Exo unit after observing the government’s inadequate housing plans for the displaced people in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
The basic-model Exo unit spans 72-square-feet and stands nine-feet.
The two-piece unit takes five minutes to assemble. Each piece is made of fire-resistant plastic, which lasts 10 years.
All basic-model Exo units come with these features:
- fold out beds, desks and shelves
- electrical outlets
- circuit breakers
- interior lights
- recessed fans for heating, cooling and ventilation
GUELPH, ONT. -- Chen Si has stopped more than 300 individuals from throwing themselves over the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, a widely known suicide site in China.
Since 2004, Si devotes his weekends to patrolling the bridge ready to help anyone in distress.
According to a story by Louisa Lim, Si offers those whom he has saved a place to stay in his two bedroom apartment.
"When I save people, I don’t want to just cheat them into living another day,” Si told Lim.
Louisa Lim’s NPR feature story “Samaritan Patrols Bridge for China’s Lost Souls” tells more about Chen Si’s efforts in helping those in distress.
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