Special Feature: Darrell Answers Letters from Children
6 February 2010
One of the perks of my job is the opportunity to do tons of outreach. I get to bring MDOT directly to the people who use transportation. It’s a special privilege, and one of the single best things about my work.
While I enjoy all my speaking engagements, the most special are the opportunities to talk with children at their schools. Every class is full of so many fun students, and they ask so many amazing questions; often, those questions are every bit as good as the questions their parents ask. After my last trip to a school, my co-worker and I got some great thank-you letters from students. I thought I’d devote some time to answering some of the letters I received.
I won’t be able to write about every single letter here, but I do want to say, “Thank you!” to every single student who took the time to write me a letter. I absolutely love getting mail, especially fun letters from students. When I have a bad day at the office (or away from the office), I go back and read those letters, and they make me feel better. I’m so glad I had the chance to visit your school, and I hope to get to come back again.
Now, to the letters. The first few are from second-grade students. Noah wrote that he wants to do what I do when he grows up.
Dear Noah,
That’s very exciting! Michigan will need lots of good, smart people to work at MDOT and help build roads and bike trails, and help make sure that buses, trains, and planes keep moving. I can’t wait to see all the great things you’ll do.
Your friend,
Darrell
Caleb wrote that he hopes I can come back to teach his class about bike safety.
Dear Caleb,
I would love to come back to your school to teach about bike safety. I’ve already talked a bit about that with some of the teachers at your school. I hope we can figure out a day for me to do that.
Your friend,
Darrell
Jaslyn mentioned that she wants to work in road construction someday, too, and asked me to write back if I have time.
Dear Jaslyn,
I’m glad that you want to work at MDOT someday. I bet you’ll do a great job, and do a lot of good things for the people of Michigan. I can’t wait to see it! As for your request, I’ll see what I can do about writing you a letter.
Your friend,
Darrell
Eliot was kind enough to apologize for my having to take time off work.
Dear Eliot,
Thank you so much for worrying about my having to take time off. Don’t be sorry, though; because I had so much fun talking to you all! I wouldn’t have had that much fun anywhere else, and I’m glad I got to visit.
Your friend,
Darrell
Now, I’m moving to a few letters from a third-grade class. Brett commented that we at MDOT save a lot of people.
Dear Brett,
Thank you for saying that. At MDOT, we want to keep people safe more than we want anything else in the world. We’ll do our best to keep making people safe, too, every single day.
Your friend,
Darrell
Jahyden asked if we build restaurants, … or was it restrooms? Since I’m not entirely sure, let’s talk about both!
Dear Jahyden,
At MDOT, we don’t build any restaurants, but we do build restrooms. At several places along the highway, there are little buildings called rest areas. Those rest areas include things like vending machines, telephones, and maps, but they also have restrooms.
Your friend,
Darrell
Josh thinks that, when I retire, I should consider becoming a teacher.
Dear Josh,
Thank you for saying that! I’m really glad that you think I’d be a good teacher. It will be a long, long time before I retire, but when I do, I’ll make sure that one of the things I think about doing is being a teacher.
Your friend,
Darrell
The last letter I’m covering here is from Darius, who said we assembled the Parkview Avenue bridge over US-131 just like we’d build something with Lego blocks.
Dear Darius,
You’re totally right. While our “Legos” are a lot bigger than the ones you have, that’s pretty much what we did. Each of the pieces fit together just right. I got to stand on the bridge while they were putting it together. It was a lot of fun to watch the construction workers put it together.
Your friend,
Darrell
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