CABBIE WITH A HEART

Once an elderly woman told her cabdriver how worried she was about her house plants. The woman, in a wheelchair, was unable to water the plants, and she feared they would wither. Jack Kitchen came to her aid. As he delivered the woman to her doorstep, he decided to come in and water the plants himself.

The people Jack Kitchen drives in his cab become more like family than fares. The kindnesses he bestows on others are just part of the job for Kitchen, who drives the wheelchair lift van for Kelly Transportation Co.

But Pat Glueck, area administrator for Renal Treatment Center Inc., in Cape Girardeau, says Kitchen goes above and beyond what most expect of a cabdriver. Kitchen is a regular at the center, bringing patients for dialysis treatments.

"He has time for everyone and makes them feel special in their own way," Glueck said. "He cares, and you can tell. He treats these people almost like they are his family."

Kitchen shrugs off the praise and says he enjoys his job and all it includes. "I have never met a person in a wheelchair who is contrary," Kitchen said. "They are really glad to see me drive up in their driveway."

Kitchen said when he drives someone two or three times a week, he does get to know them and care about them. "We talk all the time. I get to know them, their kids, their problems, their joys," Kitchen said.

"I've been doing this close to seven years," he said. "I'd rather do this as anything else."

Kitchen thinks part of his job is making sure clients are safely deposited where they need to go and that heir coats are on or off. He even reminds his clients to eat their lunches or take their medicine.

Mary Reisenbichler, social worker at the Renal Treatment Center, said Kitchen's caring is evident. "Any time he thinks one of the people are acting differently, he lets us know," she said.

He even helps schedule his cab route to help patients meet their dialysis schedule.

"I see people when they are really down and when they are really up," Kitchen said. "I get to be on a first-name basis with them. They really are like family."