A lonely school bus driver remembered every child’s birthday—one afternoon, the entire town came together to surprise him.

could explain exactly why. Maybe because the image landed too fast: This older man, who spent every year remembering the children’s birthdays, and then sitting alone on his own birthday like it was any other day.

He said, “He remembers everybody else’s.”

I sat down at the table across from him.

Mr. Walter had been driving the same yellow bus through our continue reading …