A life's work.

When he celebrated his recent birthday, Arthur Winston figured it was time to retire. He loved his job, but it was about time to hang up his hat and go home. After all, it was his 100th birthday and he had worked for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority for 76 years!

When Winston joined the company as a janitor, the company was known as the Pacific Electric Railway Company, which at that time operated the city's network of rail lines and electric streetcars, called Red Cars. The electric cars were eventually phased out and replaced with diesel buses: and Winston eventually became the supervisor of a team of 11 service attendants responsible for fueling and washing the city's bus fleet. During his 76 years of service, he missed only one day of work, when his wife died in 1988.

Arthur Winston may not have performed any of the death-defying actions usually associated with heroism. But, by his example, he has shown his community, and America, how an individual can--through extraordinary perseverance--contribute to society as a productive citizen. At a retirement ceremony, he told the press that he could have retired when he was in his 70s, but he continued working to support family members who were having a hard time making ends meet, or who were attending college.

One person who profited from Winston's example was Dana Coffey, who worked with Winston in 1976 when she started as a bus driver. Coffey, who like Winston is black, is now a general manager for the MTA and has responsibility for 1,500 employees. She readily gave Winston credit for setting a positive example that inspired her success. "Arthur is an individual that when you see him he inspires you, he energizes you," she said.