Some days it’s pretty easy to get swept away in the
negativity in the world. Politicians arguing in the latest debate, nasty
comments left on a post or story on the internet because they don’t agree with
each other. All too often these days it seems that we focus on the ways in
which we are different from each other rather than the ways in which we are
similar. At the end of the day most of us are just humans doing our best to
make in this world and make what we believe to be the best decisions for
ourselves, our families, and the world we live in. That makes us more similar
than anything.
Despite the negativity that seems to fill my TV and computer
screen and the lack of friendly greetings when you pass someone on the street, occasionally
something happens that gives me hope that maybe this world isn’t as negative as
the media would like us to believe. That happened to my office mate, Emily, and
I last week. So let me tell you a story.
Emily and I recently purchased new chairs for the waiting
room, which left us trying to figure out what to do with the old ones. The
chairs we had were actually in good shape except the seat covers had been torn.
So we figured we could donate them and someone else could get some use out of
them or would may want to recover the seats. The day came to load the chairs up
in Emily’s SUV and haul them LITERALLY across the street to the second hand
store.
Convinced we can get all 4 of these chairs into her Honda
Pilot and get them across the street we start putting them in, then take them
out, then put them in, take them out, reevaluate. . .you get the idea, it was
like playing Tetris, a game I have never been very good at. Finally we get them
all in the back of the car but we can’t close the hatch. Luckily for me I have
a father that made sure I was prepared for any situation and had a bungee cord
in the trunk of my car. I went and grabbed it and then we started to fiddle
with how to strap the hatch down.
As we struggled through this whole process a guy had come
out side and was having a smoke break. As he watched us struggle with the hatch
and the bungee cord he said:
“Do you guys need some straps, I’ve got straps in the back
of my truck”
I responded “No I think we’ve got it, just need to get this
bungee cord hooked” as I said it one of the chairs slipped and started to fall
out of the car. Emily and I grabbed it and started packing them back in.
“Do you want some help?” They guy says
This time I said “That would be great, if we just had an
extra set of hand I think we can get it”
He came down and we started evaluating how to make this
work. He was trying to think of ways to help us get them in the car without using
the bungee, but we were trying to avoid removing the car seat from Emily’s back
seat. We told him we were LITERALLY going across the street so it didn’t need
to be perfect just secure enough. Then it happened. . .
“If you are just going across the street why don’t you just
take my truck?”
Keep in mind we had never seen or talked to this guy before.
We didn’t even know is name. Neither Emily nor I said a word we just stood
there and stared at him. I don’t think either of us could believe what we had
just heard. Finally I mustered a “Are you sure?” He laughed a little and said “Well
unless you planning on stealing it, yeah I’m sure.”
Not really knowing what else to do or having a better plan,
Emily and I agreed. We pulled the chairs out of Emily’s car and she moved it
out of the way while Daniel (we finally did introductions) ran upstairs and got
his keys and pulled his truck forward and helped us load them in the back. Then
simply said, “have fun” and disappeared back into the building.
Then Emily and I just looked at each other like who is going
to drive this thing. See what he neglected to mention was that his truck was a Toyota
Tundra. Far bigger than any vehicle I have ever been in let alone driven
anywhere. In case you were wondering I got the honor of driving by default
since after Daniel went back in the building Emily made a bee line for the passenger’s
side.
We had a pretty comical ride over to the second hand store as
we joked that we hoped Daniel wasn’t calling the police and reporting his truck
stolen. And making guesses as to what my dad would say about this whole
situation. You see my dad is a little high strung about things and often gets
worked up over nothing so it is kind of fun to guess what he would say.
At the end of the day our efforts to be good people and
donate these chairs failed as the second hand store wouldn’t take them because of
the tears, so we did all that and ended up hauling them back to our office building
and putting them in the dumpster. But the impact of Daniel’s generosity has and
will stick with me for quite some time.
So as you start your week off and we are bombarded with the
latest political infighting, or hear about some awful thing someone did to
someone else on the news, or even in your own backyard, experience someone
being rude at the grocery store, remember this story. In a world that can seem so
negative and uncaring at times, you never know when some very nice stranger
will see you struggling and offer assistance in the most generous ways. These
are the things that make this country and this planet great. The day to day
interactions of everyday people helping everyday people. We don’t need to be
made great again, we still are and always have been great.
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