Getting lost and found in Montreal

My husband and I were standing on a street corner in downtown Montreal, looking for the Metro sign which were told would be right there.  We checked our map again.  Snow was swirling all around us and the streets were full of pedestrians doing their Christmas shopping.  One woman, carrying a big, heavy bag, stopped and asked if we needed help.  She assured us that the Metro station was nearby but we would have to descend below street level through a store across the street and turn left, go straight and then diagonal at the food court.  We must have looked uncertain.  And then she offered to walk us to the Metro stop.  She was on her way to a dance that would not begin for a while, she assured us, as she took us across the street, into the store and all the way to the Metro.  And then, she was off to the dance.  I hope she found some dance partners that were worthy of her.

Welcoming Differences

This morning at the gym, I entered the coffee room and was welcomed by a friend who was chatting with an older woman whom I did not know.  My friend introduced us.  We talked about the meanings of our names for a minute and then the woman asked me my name again and its meaning.  I repeated myself and continued chatting with her.  My friend invited us both to look at her photos from her recent holiday.  The photos were spectacular.  Both of us were impressed. I was additionally impressed with the comfort and grace of my friend in conversation with a charming women who could not remember. 

My late mother suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.  I often noticed that when people, even some acquaintances and family members, first realized that my mother's short term memory was faulty, they turned away from her and did not continue to include her in the conversation.  I felt hurt, watching my mother's exclusion. 

It did my heart good to watch acceptance of a person, challenges and all.

Football Players in Middle school

I am not much of a football fan.  I can't figure out what is happening on the play in most sports.  But I get the sense that something significant happened from my family and friends.  I received this you tube from a friend.  It's a great story about kindness.  Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8_RpyfyNs4

The Unkindness of Ignoring Others in Your Space

It was a busy Sunday afternoon at the Eaton Centre, a big mall in downtown Toronto.  I was surrounded by crowds of people, hurrying forward when I came to a short flight of stairs.  The people behind me were pushing me to move faster when I slipped on the last stair and fell, twisting my ankle.  No one stopped to help.  In fact, two people stepped on my leg while they rushed by down the stairs and forward..  I rolled out of the way of the stairs and slowly stood up with my husband's help.  When I got home, I used ice on the ankle, raising my leg to take down the swelling.  The next day, I went to a local hospital emergency department and found out that I broke the cuboid bone in my foot.  I am walking with an air cast for 6 weeks.  I am slowed down considerably.  I walk more carefully, miss streetcars and buses and I can't drive because my right foot was injured. 

I am puzzled that my fellow walkers did not pause to help me.  I looked around me while sitting on the floor, collecting my dignity and saw that many people were talking or texting on their cell phones while walking, others were walking, head down barreling forward with not a glance to the left or right.  I was stirred by not shaken by what I observed.  I will watch out for others now with more attentiveness so I do not miss the potential of what I see.

Welcoming strangers to the group

I have been working out regularly at the Y for several years and have gotten to know the regulars who come when I do in the early morning.  New people come and go especially after the summer break and the New Year.  I don't usually step forward to meet them until I see them continually for a few weeks.  But one woman keeps her eyes open for new arrivals and introduces herself to the new person and includes her in conversations as soon as she sees her again.  It seems to me that everyone knows her by name and she knows everyone else at the Y. 

She celebrates other people's accomplishments, praises new clothes and only tells stories about others when there is potential for the listener to be helpful. 

I once spoke to her about how I admired her attentiveness to others.  She told me that in the past, she had felt left out and knows how it feels.  It's one thing to develop great social skills and improve your own situation, and still another to use these skills to consistently get other people into happier situations.  You are a really good woman Rusty! 

Lost Button in St.Johns Newfoundland

I joined my husband who was attending a conference in St. Johns.   I try to pack light and realized when I got there that my only pair of slacks were missing a crucial button.

My husband dropped my off at the Avalon Mall and told me he'd join me later.  After seeking a place that sells buttons with no luck, I was directed to a Stitch It store.  The 2 women who worked there asked me to give over the slacks and wait in the change room.  Searching my purse there, I realized that I left my wallet in the hotel room.  The women smiled when I told them that I would have to wait for my husband to pay.  "No charge" they both said with a smile, "don't worry about it".  When my husband finally showed up, I tried to pay again but the ladies just said "welcome to Newfoundland".

Help for veteran on US Memorial Day

We are on a driving holiday in the American southwest and stopped for the afternoon at a Holiday Inn Express in Alamosa Colorado. This is a small town that serves a large ranch and farming community that surrounds it.  As we left our rental car, we saw 3 police cars and an older man leaning on an aluminum crutch, with a disheveled appearance wearing a cap with "Vietnam Vet" on the brim.  We checked in at the desk and asked about the man. She said she was hoping that the police would take him to a shelter. Someone had dropped him off at the hotel, and the Alamosa police refused to help, saying they were not a taxi service. The clerk phoned her husband and best friend who came over and took the veteran to a VA facility in the next town and let his family know where he is now.  The clerk said she could not understand why the police would abandon a man who needs help especially on Memorial Day.