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Moments of Generosity and Kindness
She quickly made her way to our table at Denny’s, pencil and pad in hand, a wide smile and a chipper energy. Can I get you some coffee? And then after getting the hot coffee, are you ready to order? When we weren’t, she said, take your time. And she really meant it. Breakfast was delicious. The waitress’ smile and sweetness throughout our breakfast, and her attentiveness, were the icing on the cake—or on the pancakes.
Then at Walmart, I was stuck in one of those endless lines. Fortunately I didn’t have many items. The man in front of me kept glancing back at me, his cart fairly full. Suddenly he turned around and said, you should go ahead, you don’t have that many items. I said, but I do, they’re just piled in this little section here, pointing to the place where children often sit. No, no you go ahead. It’s okay. So I did. As I was leaving, I looked back to thank him, and realized he’d let another women ahead of him.
At the gas station, two cars were parked next to each other. One was about to leave and the passenger of the other car couldn’t squeeze in to enter her side. The other car’s driver (he must have been waiting for someone in the market) started to back up so the woman, soda drink in hand, could get in the other car. The soda drink woman protested, no, no, it’s okay, my guy will back up, really it’s okay. Slowly the other car drove forward while her car backed up to let her enter her side. I caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back.
After days and months of rants and raves about the state of this country and the world, a little generosity and kindness go a long way.
Published in Culture
I was helping out with a youth orchestra years ago. The Boston Pops were performing an outdoor concert in Hyannis (their annual Pops by the Sea concert), and the organizers of the event had asked the kids to do a concert in the hour ahead of the Pops’ performance. As readers can imagine, this was a very big deal for the kids and their families. For one thing, there were 13,000 people in the audience. For a student orchestra, that was phenomenal in itself. :-)
I had prepared a program for the occasion, but there were last-minute changes by the nervous conductor. I wasn’t able to drop off the program at the printer’s until the day before. We wanted only a thousand–just enough for the crowd sitting near the kids’ stage–but that was a tall order given the artwork in the program (there were quite a few ads). The chances of our getting that program in time were a million to one.
The day of the concert, as the kids were tuning up, I saw a man running toward us through the crowd. “I’ve got them!” he said. It was the printer. My eyes fill up to this day remembering this guy. What a sight he was! I don’t even know how he parked his car–there were police cars and security force employees everywhere.
I love @annefy “Be the story” advice. And that printer will always be my favorite out of a lifetime of good stories of people helping me.
We had a family friend who loved to call things “precious.” This is precious. Thanks, @marcin.
When I’m in the market, shopping, I never just dart out of the aisle to turn the corner, because it so often will be a collision, instead. But, I venture out slowly, looking, and when someone is there, I give them a big smile. It completely diffuses the situation, even if we bumped into each other. A kind smile is a big calmer of bad situations. People usually just relax immediately.
So do I! Sometimes I add a big “whoops!” These light moments are so lovely. Good to hear from you @cowgirl!