It’s been said that one should never underestimate the importance of having fun.
Certainly, that’s a lesson that West Shore resident Kevin Gower learned years ago and a life philosophy that he follows every day.
You might not know Gower by name, but he’s certainly a character that scores of people would recognize by the fact that he rides a motorcycle with a rather unique passenger. Seated behind him is a full-size, smiling skeleton dressed in a tie-dye shirt, a wig, and a snazzy hat.
“My wife has a medical condition that prevents her from riding with me anymore, but she said that she didn’t want me giving rides to other girls, so Marilyn was born,” said Gower. "She certainly gets some attention, and it makes people smile to see her back there, so it’s all just a lot of fun.”
Spreading a fun spirit is a consistent theme in Gower’s life.
He works for BC Transit and a few years back he decided to spread a little cheer at Christmas.
“As a bus driver I get to see people at their best and at their worst, but I always try to help them out when I can and I just like putting a smile on people’s faces,” he said.
Gower began by putting up a little ‘Charlie Brown Christmas tree’ in his bus to help folks get into the spirit of Christmas and, with the blessing of BC Transit president and CEO Erinn Pinkerton, Gower has expanded the decorations on his bus to include lights, wreaths and even a Menorah.
“I come to work early every day to get the decorations up and stay after my shift to take them down. I can’t just leave them since I get a different bus every day. But I don’t mind…it’s worth it to see the smiles on people’s faces,” Gower said.
Those smiles have inspired Gower to expand his whimsical decorations to include other special days. On St. Patrick’s Day he paints his beard green and hangs shamrocks in his bus, and for Chinese New Year he had a rabbit (to commemorate the Year of the Rabbit), Chinese lanterns and piped in Chinese music.
But one of Gower’s favourite holidays is right around the corner and he’s all set to celebrate.
“At my place we go all out for Halloween, so it only seemed right for me to spread that fun to my bus,” Gower said. “I dress up as Beetlejuice and the kids love it. I have them getting on the bus and laughing and calling out ‘Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice’ and then breaking into laughter.”
He also has a supply of candy for the kids as they board his bus and has discovered that some folks catch his bus just for the experience, even though they aren’t going his way.
Gower’s desire to spread some goodness into the world transcends his entertainment.
He has ridden in the Santa Claus Parade, the Gay Pride Parade, a variety of toy runs for charity and recently was part of the ride to support prostate cancer research.
“We raised more than $40,000 in that event. There were more than 200 bikes involved. It means a lot to me as I lost my dad to prostate cancer. It’s a great cause.”
Now, none of Gower’s actions are, in themselves, heroic – and he’d be the first to scoff at the idea that he’s special.
But through his fun and whimsical attitude toward life, and through his actions to bring smiles to the faces of the people he meets, he is, in fact, a very special person.
Desmond Tutu once said that you must, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Keep that in mind if you happen to get on a bus only to find that Beetlejuice is behind the wheel.
