Saturday, October 20, 2007

Kindness Of Strangers

You ever have one of those days? The kind where you find yourself crying at the drop of a hat…at the most inconvenient time and place…for the most ridiculous of reasons. Yep, it was that kind of day.

Actually, my Saturday began simply enough. I woke up later than usual, but then I didn’t go to bed until 3:00a.m., so that is understandable. Made some phone calls, had a bite of breakfast, checked eBay for VDO/Bobby stuff. Then it was out the door to run my typical Saturday errands; i.e., gas-up the car, hit the ATM for some cash, go to Sam’s to stock up on pain medication for my poor, pathetic knees and acid reflux pills for my cranky digestive system…this getting old crap is for the birds…and to Circuit City for computer stuff. You get the idea…just another routine, boring day.

Next, I headed across the river to Newport, Kentucky to buy a lottery ticket (hey, it could happen) then to Joe’s Crab Shack for lunch. It was when I was leaving the restaurant that it happened…a simple, considerate, thoughtful gesture carried out by a total stranger. (I am suddenly reminded of Blanche DuBois and “the kindness of strangers.”)

Anyway, as I was about to leave the eatery, the door opened and a couple stepped across the threshold. I took an instinctive step backwards to give them room to enter the restaurant. The woman came inside and the man (I only got a fleeting glimpse of him, but he was very tall, with longish dark hair, and very handsome…you know…the sort of man I’m always attracted to, but never notice me) did likewise. In fact, the door had closed behind them, but when I moved forward, the man saw me, and not only did he open the door for me, but he stepped back outside to hold it open until I had completely cleared the threshold to continue on my merry way.

As I stepped in front of the "handsome stranger," I thanked him for the considerate gesture, then started down the restaurant steps, and that is when the tears inexplicably began to flow. I don’t know why. It’s not the first time a handsome man has held a door open for me. I just suppose I have become inured to the sad fact that “chivalry” or even basic good manners are disappearing from this planet at such a rapid rate that I am so taken by surprise when I am the benefactress of a “random act of kindness” that my poor, old brain no longer knows how to process it. Sad indeed.

Well, the tears were still trickling down my face when I arrived at my car, so after fumbling around to find a Kleenex, I cranked the engine, the radio came on and there were Simon and Garfunkel singing to me:

When you’re weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I’m on your side. When times get rough
And friends just can’t be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Sometimes life is surreal.

1 comment:

val said...

Strange but wonderful.

Now if the tall, handsome stranger had only been Vincent...