A METRO Vanpool Spreads Holiday Cheer

METRO Connections • December 2019

For the last several months, Stella Callegari-Insell has taken a METRO Star Vanpool to work every day. The registered nurse commutes with a group of coworkers from Cypress to the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.

Callegari-Insell said the group's members have become a second family to her.

"We're a fun and upbeat bunch — an international van with lots of flavor and pizzazz," remarked Callegari-Insell. I suppose it's natural for us. We're taking care of veterans every day."

Given their commitment for serving others, it’s not surprising they embarked on a mission to carry out a random act of kindness.

"During our daily commutes, I noticed an older man waiting at a bus stop in the Heights. Like clockwork, he was there every morning. Some of the more established vanpoolers said they've been seeing him for years," said Callegari-Insell.

"He always wore brightly-colored socks which were always perfectly coordinated with his outfit. Over time, we began calling him 'Sock Man'," chuckled Callegari-Insell.

Fellow vanpool rider Nelly Soria said, "Sock Man" became an endearing fixture on the group's morning commute. 

"We've always looked forward to seeing him," said Soria. "So we began to worry when, over the summer, we noticed he wasn't at the bus stop anymore. We wondered whether he was okay. Did he retire? Was he sick?"

Fortunately, 'Sock Man' was only gone for three weeks. The group was elated when he returned and decided to meet and surprise him with socks for the holidays.

"We learned 'Sock Man's' name was Scott," said Callegari-Insell. "He was quite tickled by our visit and explained that he had been visiting his mother during his three-week hiatus. Finally meeting him made our day."

Callegari-Insell said her vanpool family offers a sense of community and has led to new friendships. The joyful encounter with "Sock Man" was only possible because of them.

It's been a wonderful experience," said Callegari-Insell. "Riding to work with this group is so much more interesting than riding alone. I'm a much happier person for it."

Click photo to play video.

Would you like to receive more stories like this? Click here to subscribe to the METRO Connections monthly newsletter today!