Art Ida’s Tearful Goodbye to Ken

With Art Ida, Transportation Director for the city of Culver City and head of Culver CityBus, impressively checking in this morning (see below), loving tributes to the late Ken Ruben — unprecedented in quantity and content – have continued to pour in hourly since his death one week ago today.

The newspaper’s email account has been groaning, happily, from the tremendous number of correspondences that have been exchanged the past seven days.

Here is a sweet irony Mr. Ruben’s vast and growing (?) chorus of friends may appreciate.

If you Google the amazing Mr. Ruben’s name, a screen full of images, and plenty more, pop up.

If you Google the modest Mr. Ida, a gentleman of considerable accomplishment, one tiny, unusable image emerges.

In death even more than life, Mr. Ruben is a genuine celebrity.

Let there be no doubt Mr. Ida and Mr. Ruben had a relationship. One afternoon last month, Mr. Ruben asked a visitor to dial Mr. Ida’s number at City Hall. Following his Dec. 30 stroke, Mr. Ruben’s ability to speak had become severely impaired. The visitor opened the call by identifying Mr. Ruben as the party of the first part. They conversed several minutes. Surely Mr. Ida understood little, if any. As they hung up, they pledged to speak again.

And they did.

In 72 years and five months on this planet, Mr. Ruben, quintessential transportation maven, was that rare person who accumulated authentic friends by the dozens, up and down the state, as against relatively few lines on a traditional resume.

Especially in death, as they did in life, Mr. Ruben’s pals only think of him at two times, day and night.

Here is Mr. Ida’s tribute:

Ken loved Culver CityBus. 

Actually, it is a known fact that former Culver CityBus Transportation Director Dave Ashcraft deemed Ken Ruben to be given a special honorary title as the No. 1 Culver CityBus passenger.

Ken was very proud of the title that Mr. Ashcraft gave him.

Upon my appointment as Transportation Director for the city, Ken quizzed me if I knew who was the No. 1 Culver CityBus passenger. 

Luckily, I already knew the answer.

I told Ken that I knew it was him. 

If I only had had a camera to capture the smile on his face. 

I will always cherish the memories of the interactions I had over the last 15 years since I met him. 

The last memory I had with Ken was several weeks ago when I visited him at the hospital. 

I brought him a little Culver City squeezy rapid bus. 

I put the bus on the tray in front of him.

“Since you can’t come to the bus,” I said, “I thought I’d bring the bus to you.” 

Ken began to cry with large tears.

He had a huge smile.

He grabbed my hand.

With every effort in his body, to the best of his ability, he muttered the words “thank you.” 

I will truly miss Ken’s passion for Culver CityBus, his transit advocacy, but most of all his friendship.  

I have been blessed to have known him.

Mr. Ida may be contacted at art.ida@culvercity.org