When my husband and I couldn’t pick up our son from school one day due to work, we asked Kyle to take the school bus home along with the rest of his classmates. However, things took a sharp turn when the bus driver made a mistake while calling out the bus stop locations.It was just an ordinary Thursday, or so I thought when I waved goodbye to Kyle as he left for school with my husband, Tristan. He wasn’t used to taking the bus since either Tristan or I usually picked him up from school. But work had us both tied up that day, so we called his teacher and told her he’d be taking the bus and that we’d pick him up from the bus stop as it was closer for us. She guided him on what he needed to do before boarding. “Alright, sweetheart, the bus driver is going to call out the names of the bus stops. You have to be alert and wait for him to call your stop. Okay?” Mrs. Patterson told him before Kyle boarded the bus…My baby was confident he could make it, as he had always seen himself as an independent child.”Thank you, Mrs. Patterson. I’ll be alert and wait for him to call out Pflugerville,” he said, hugging his teacher before boarding the bus. Then, he got to his seat, and the bus driver closed the door. Kyle knew that our house was a bit further than the rest of the kids, so he read a book while on the bus.
Although he knew the name of our neighborhood, he didn’t exactly know how the bus stop looked, as he’d never ridden the school bus before. After a couple of stops, the bus driver suddenly called out, “Pflugerville.” Looking around, Kyle realized he was the only one getting off at that stop. He thanked the bus driver, exited the bus, and found himself alone at the bus stop.”Dad? Mom?” he then called out. He didn’t have a cell phone, so he decided to sit, thinking we were just late. It was getting darker, and it was cold. Kyle started feeling scared and walked around the neighborhood, hoping to find our house. But he ended up lost. Then, while he was walking around, a dark figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Kyle started crying,afraid that he was about to be taken somewhere scary. To be honest, that day was hectic like no other. We didn’t realize how soon it was time to pick up Kyle. Tristan and I headed to the bus stop in the next town, expecting to see Kyle hop off with his usual bright smile. But as the kids disembarked one by one, the sinking realization hit us — Kyle wasn’t there. Panic set in when the bus driver approached us, his face pale. “I’m sorry, I made a mistake. I called out ‘Pflugerville’ too early. I drove back and looked for him, but…” he stammered. The anger and fear I felt were indescribable.
We promised to take action against this negligence, but our immediate concern was finding our son.As darkness enveloped the town, Tristan and I frantically searched the neighborhood, calling out Kyle’s name, hoping to find him. But we got no response. Our boy was somewhere, and we didn’t know where. Tears streamed down my face, the worst scenarios playing out in my mind. Then, my phone rang, cutting through the night’s stillness. “Mom?” Kyle’s voice, a mix of relief and fear, was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. “Sweetheart, where are you? Dad and I have been looking for you,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. He was calling from an unknown number. Whose number was that? “I’m with Frank. I’m in a dark, dirty room, but…”
The line went dead. My heart stopped for a moment. Had someone taken him? Who was this Frank? Without hesitation, we involved the police, who traced the call to a rundown part of town. We arrived at a decrepit shelter, where we found Kyle, safe but scared, with a beggar — Frank.Tristan and I were scared beyond words. Frank looked scary with his shabby appearance, and we thought he’d abducted our son. We were ready to unleash our fury at him for what we thought was a sinister act. Tristan almost raised his hand at the poor man. But Kyle’s voice stopped us in time. “Dad, Mom, why are you getting mad at him? You should be thanking him! If it weren’t for Frank, I’d be outside, freezing in the cold, or worse, someone could have taken me.” The realization hit us hard. Frank, this stranger who had nothing, had taken our son under his wing, offering him warmth and protection when he was most vulnerable. My heart swelled with gratitude and shame for my initial suspicions. Tristan and I immediately apologized to the kind man. Frank brushed off our worries and told us it was fine. “And that’s not all, Mom,” Kyle continued. “Using the money he had left, he bought me a sandwich instead of buying something for himself. He even gave me his blanket.”Tears welled up in my eyes, not just for the fear of nearly losing Kyle but for the kindness Frank showed him. That night, my husband and I treated Frank to a delicious meal at a local Chinese restaurant. Frank was overjoyed. “Thank you for this delicious meal. You really didn’t have to do anything for me. I was glad to help Kyle!” he smiled. “Something could have happened to our son if you were not there to save him, Frank. This is the least we can do,” Tristan said while pouring Frank another cup of tea. Tristan and I were so grateful for what Frank had done that we didn’t want to stop at just treating him to dinner. We wanted to make sure that although Frank was currently unemployed, he’d live comfortably.As Tristan worked for a large pharmaceutical company, he pulled some strings to get Frank a job at one of their pharmacy branches. We also made sure he had warm clothes and food while he adjusted to life as an employee. We wanted to ensure Frank’s future was as bright as the hope he’d given us. Ultimately, Frank’s life changed for the better, and he was able to move out of the shelter and rent a small apartment that was good enough for him to comfortably live in. He also excelled at his job as a security guard, and he enjoyed being able to work and interact with different people. Frank never thought that a simple act of kindness would change his life for the better. He had a stable job and a comfortable home and gained a good set of friends — all because he decided to help Kyle that day. Looking back, I realize how a moment of fear led to an unexpected friendship and a reminder of the inherent goodness in people. Frank, once a stranger, now holds a special place in our hearts.
From Dancing Queen to Mystery: What Made Cynthia Rhodes Leave the Spotlight
When Cynthia Rhodes wasn’t “Staying Alive” on the dance floor with John Travolta, she was “Dirty Dancing” with Patrick Swayze.
Rhodes, who will turn 67 in November 2023, had a great career with famous dance movies from the 1980s. However, she chose to step away from the spotlight at the height of her fame.
Keep reading to find out why this talented actress, singer, and dancer retired so early!
Cynthia Rhodes was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She started her acting career with a small role in the 1980 musical fantasy film **Xanadu**, which starred the late Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.
Her role as Tina Tech, a dancer in the 1983 film **Flashdance**, led to a bigger part later that year as John Travolta’s love interest in **Staying Alive**, the sequel to **Saturday Night Fever**, directed by Sylvester Stallone.
In 1987, she played her most famous role as Penny Johnson, a dance instructor at a resort hotel in **Dirty Dancing**.
In her role as Penny, Cynthia Rhodes shows off her amazing dance skills with graceful and flashy Mambo moves alongside the late Patrick Swayze. She also shares some very emotional and heartbreaking scenes with him.
Rhodes described her character Penny as having an “edge.” Penny both charmed and shocked viewers as she dealt with a difficult storyline involving a botched illegal abortion.
The film includes a socially relevant subplot about reproductive rights, with Rhodes at the center of it all. This helped position the three lead characters—Swayze as Johnny, Jennifer Grey as Baby, and Rhodes as Penny—for stardom.
“She’s from South Philly and she’s had a rough life,” Rhodes said about her character. “She’s got a sweetness about her, but it’s hidden because she’s been through a lot, and she has sort of put up a wall.” Rhodes added, “In the end, I think she finally realizes that life does go on.”
Life went on for Cynthia Rhodes, but not in the way her fans hoped.
After training for ten hours a day to prepare for her role as Penny, Rhodes found dancing to be “really hard.” She shared, “That’s why I keep saying I’m never going to dance again. I’m tired of dancing. My bones are hurting, and my back hurts all the time.” She added, “Every time I say, ‘That’s it, I don’t want to dance anymore,’ I get another film. I’m not going to turn down work! I feel very fortunate to be in films that involve dancing. But I just want a chance to do some dramatic work without dancing. Just give me a straight acting part.”
In the same year that *Dirty Dancing* was released, the 31-year-old Rhodes, who had many role options and admirers, appeared in the music video for “Don’t Mean Nothing” by Richard Marx. He is also known for the song “Right Here Waiting,” which was famously written for Rhodes in 1989.
In 1989, Rhodes married the Grammy Award-winning singer Richard Marx, and the couple welcomed their first child, Brandon, in 1990. They later had two more sons, Lucas in 1992 and Jesse in 1994.
According to Marx, Rhodes, who had previously trained for the Olympics, decided to retire in 1990 to focus on raising their children. He mentioned that this choice was also due to the “intense physical pain” her dance moves caused her.
“I thought, ‘This won’t last; she’s definitely going to want to come back to work and do films.’ But she found fulfillment in being a mom that completely overshadowed any desire she had to make movies,” Marx, now 59, explained. “Even if you’re her biggest fan, as good as you think she was as a dancer, singer, or actress, you should see her as a mom.”
Rhodes, who began dancing at just three years old, found that she was much happier being a mom and giving her body the rest it needed.
“The thing was, I used to never be sore. In fact, I was a gymnast. Now it’s frustrating… I never used to stretch, but now I have to stretch before I dance. I love to dance, but if I never did it again, I wouldn’t be sorry,” Rhodes said.
Since then, she hasn’t looked back. The last time she appeared on screen was in the 1991 film *Curse of the Crystal Eye.*
The former Hollywood starlet divorced Marx in 2014, and he married MTV’s first Latina host, Daisy Fuentes, the following year.
As for her sons, all three are following in the footsteps of their famous parents. Brandon is now a music producer and singer, while Lucas has made a name for himself as a singer and actor, appearing in TV series like *The Chicago Code*, *The Mob Doctor*, *Chicago P.D.*, and *Parenthood*. The youngest son, Jesse, has joined a metal band and is working on his own music.
Dancing requires a high level of athleticism, so while we miss seeing Cynthia Rhodes, we completely understand why she chose to leave Hollywood.
What are your favorite films featuring her?
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