Be kind to strangers
Howling outside my window right now is what the newscaster called the "worst snowstorm of the season." It's been steadily dropping snow on us all day.
It was grocery day again, so I ploughed through snow up past my ankles from the University to the grocery store. It took nearly a half hour, though on a day without the snow it only takes about fifteen minutes.
The snow didn't bother me though. It's the kind of weather I always loved when I was a kid.
I got my groceries and made it out to the bus stop a mere ten minutes after it was supposed to drive by. Which on a normal day would have meant I still had another five minutes to wait.
This was not a normal day.
Shortly after I got to the bus stop a young woman - about my age - came trooping through the storm from the direction the bus was supposed to be coming. She carefully made her way down the slope to the parking lot and started her car.
I began to wonder if maybe the bus had already passed.
When she got out to clean the half foot of snow off it, I called out to her. I hesitated a moment before doing so. I didn't want to make her feel threatened.
She straightened and looked behind her towards the buildings. She was wearing a hat and had her hood pulled up. Sound must have been a little muffled.
"Over here," I called.
She looked at me and smiled.
"Yes?" she said.
"You didn't happen to see the bus pass you as you were walking this way, did you?"
"The Gordon street bus?" she asked.
"Yes."
"No. Which is good news for you, eh?"
We both laughed. I went back to waiting and she went back to clearing off the car. Don't ask why, but I actually considered offering to clear it for her. It was only after remembering that people don't do such things and that it would make little sense for me to do it did I discard the idea.
A few moments later she called to me.
"Are you in a rush to get somewhere?"
"Not really," I said. A little surprised.
"I was just going to offer you a ride somewhere if you were in a rush."
I said I was fine, that the bus would probably be along shortly. I was just going back to the house. No real reason to rush there.
"You sure?" she asked.
With the snow swirling down around us and nobody else around, I thought for a moment more before saying I was sure and thanking her.
She shrugged, smiled, got in her car and drove off.
I'm an exceptionally cynical guy a lot of the time. I spent four years studying criminal behaviour. I spend a fair chunk of each day reading the news. I'm well aware of how terrible people can be to each other and how often people act solely out of self interest.
It's sometimes a shock to see a person offer to do something for a stranger simply because they want to help.
It was grocery day again, so I ploughed through snow up past my ankles from the University to the grocery store. It took nearly a half hour, though on a day without the snow it only takes about fifteen minutes.
The snow didn't bother me though. It's the kind of weather I always loved when I was a kid.
I got my groceries and made it out to the bus stop a mere ten minutes after it was supposed to drive by. Which on a normal day would have meant I still had another five minutes to wait.
This was not a normal day.
Shortly after I got to the bus stop a young woman - about my age - came trooping through the storm from the direction the bus was supposed to be coming. She carefully made her way down the slope to the parking lot and started her car.
I began to wonder if maybe the bus had already passed.
When she got out to clean the half foot of snow off it, I called out to her. I hesitated a moment before doing so. I didn't want to make her feel threatened.
She straightened and looked behind her towards the buildings. She was wearing a hat and had her hood pulled up. Sound must have been a little muffled.
"Over here," I called.
She looked at me and smiled.
"Yes?" she said.
"You didn't happen to see the bus pass you as you were walking this way, did you?"
"The Gordon street bus?" she asked.
"Yes."
"No. Which is good news for you, eh?"
We both laughed. I went back to waiting and she went back to clearing off the car. Don't ask why, but I actually considered offering to clear it for her. It was only after remembering that people don't do such things and that it would make little sense for me to do it did I discard the idea.
A few moments later she called to me.
"Are you in a rush to get somewhere?"
"Not really," I said. A little surprised.
"I was just going to offer you a ride somewhere if you were in a rush."
I said I was fine, that the bus would probably be along shortly. I was just going back to the house. No real reason to rush there.
"You sure?" she asked.
With the snow swirling down around us and nobody else around, I thought for a moment more before saying I was sure and thanking her.
She shrugged, smiled, got in her car and drove off.
I'm an exceptionally cynical guy a lot of the time. I spent four years studying criminal behaviour. I spend a fair chunk of each day reading the news. I'm well aware of how terrible people can be to each other and how often people act solely out of self interest.
It's sometimes a shock to see a person offer to do something for a stranger simply because they want to help.
