Yesterday, the fiance and I went to our local Western Bagel. I'm a huge fan of the Traditional (minus the capers, yuck!). As we enter the business, my partner holds the door open for a man who looks like he's a bit rushed. An employee offers to take the next customer in line, and my fiance and I (independently, at the same time) gesture with our arms and tell the guy to go in front of us. We hadn't completely decided on what to order yet, so we didn't want to hold up the line. The guy seemed a bit surprised and made his order. We then made ours.
While I waited for our order, I noticed the man had just a turkey sandwich. But as the stranger began to pay for his order, I heard the employee say something about "two traditionals and one lox and cream cheese" (part of our order). I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes, so the significance eluded me; for the time being, I just thought they were overcharging him. He sat, took about two bites of his sandwich, and then left, not even asking for a to-go box.
Our bagels were ready in a few minutes, so my fiance walked up to help carry the plates to the table while I took care of the bill. As I approached to get rung up, the employees looked at me a little confused. There was a short little discussion amongst themselves in Spanish, but I caught "muchacho". A male friend? An employee explained: "Your friend? The guy? He paid for your order." Now it was my turn to be confused. "Yeah, he paid for everything but the last bagel. $1.46 please." I handed her my card and returned to the table to explain the whole thing to my fiance. Needless to say, he was as surprised as I was.
To that guy, and anyone else who does a kindness for a stranger, keep in mind that you may have just turned someone's day around. While obviously not too poor to go to Western Bagel, money isn't exactly free-flowing for us, or for millions or other Americans. Even the smallest courtesy, favor, or charity can make someone whose life is on the edge have just enough hope to keep going, to keep pushing toward the goal of someday it being better than the day before. Just a compliment can be enough to help someone be able to put one foot in front of the other, even when it feels their feet are encased in concrete. No matter how little you have, you can always at least give someone a compliment. There's a neat warm fuzzy feeling you get when you put a smile on someone's face because of thoughtful words.
The only way out of this economy is if we help each other, through small acts of kindness. A purchased meal, help with household chores, getting together to cook meals for the week, all these things that build community will make it easier for all of us to survive, and survive happily, if we just stop being selfish enough in thinking we don't have the time or the energy. To receive, give. I have never found this to not be true.
Showing posts with label kindness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kindness. Show all posts
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Domestic Terrorism On The Rise
Scary, isn't it: Children's medical helicopter shot
Photo source: 10tv article here
To set the scene a little: you're in a major car wreck. While you're being worked on, your kids are screaming in the back seat, and you have no idea how injured they are. You hear a call for a medical helicopter, and your kids are transported. . . only to have the helicopter shot at as they fly overhead.
What kind of lily-livered, yellow-bellied, ovary-lacking, ugly carbon bag of mostly water could want to do this?
This right here? This is domestic terrorism. Rapists, serial killers, people who shoot at helicopters, all belong in that special hell with child molestors and people who talk in movie theaters, and they all deserve to be tried for treason (except for the talkers, they just need to be ejected with massive amounts of humiliation).
To harm a child is to take an active role in ensuring that the future is a little worse off. That child could have been the President of the United States, the scientist who cures cancers, the mother who raises her children to be good people, the author who writes a book that changes the course of human history.
To fire up on a helicopter with a humanitarian mission to serve sick children should be counted among the lowest of human actions, but unfortunately, this sort of violence is exactly the kind of thing the U.S. should expect, and it will only get worse from here.
People are desperate. The debacle with the debt crisis now has its first truly visible and immediate consequence: the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Like a patient with obesity, the U.S. is collapsing under the weight of its own gluttonous consumption and appetite for debt. Most people heed the warning signs, and get their weight under control once symptoms like shortness of breath and high blood pressure appear.
Increasing violence is a hallmark of a collapsing society, just as cholesterol levels are the hallmark of heart attacks. We cannot afford to ignore the connection between economic security and physical safety. The answer to being safer is not more guns or more violence, but more help for those who need it. The U.S. has the choice to hand its poor a sandwich or a gun; unfortunately, it seems like Congress is more comfortable with handing out guns than food.
People from States are a special sort, able to turn a blind eye to all but the most immediate of problems. The U.S. continues to hemorrhage money, with no real debate on how to match the spending with revenue. A home-owner might take a second job to cover the bills, but the U.S. has fewer options. Ultimately, taxes must be raised, and the sooner Congress sucks it up and deals with that, the sooner the rest of the country (and the world) can move on with recovery.
In the meantime, keep an eye out for things like this. Work on getting your family in a position where you can move quickly, if necessary. Even if you never need to actually evacuate, having the resources available may still serve you in other ways. Get out of debt.
And most of all, help your neighbor. Your neighbor will be more likely to call the cops if your property is being robbed if they know who you are, if you have helped them with the yardwork, the kids, the pets. Good fences make good neighbors, that's true, but it also helps to build an isolation that causes all to be at risk.
Hopefully these monsters will soon have better things to do than shoot at children's medical helicopters.
To set the scene a little: you're in a major car wreck. While you're being worked on, your kids are screaming in the back seat, and you have no idea how injured they are. You hear a call for a medical helicopter, and your kids are transported. . . only to have the helicopter shot at as they fly overhead.
What kind of lily-livered, yellow-bellied, ovary-lacking, ugly carbon bag of mostly water could want to do this?
This right here? This is domestic terrorism. Rapists, serial killers, people who shoot at helicopters, all belong in that special hell with child molestors and people who talk in movie theaters, and they all deserve to be tried for treason (except for the talkers, they just need to be ejected with massive amounts of humiliation).
To harm a child is to take an active role in ensuring that the future is a little worse off. That child could have been the President of the United States, the scientist who cures cancers, the mother who raises her children to be good people, the author who writes a book that changes the course of human history.
To fire up on a helicopter with a humanitarian mission to serve sick children should be counted among the lowest of human actions, but unfortunately, this sort of violence is exactly the kind of thing the U.S. should expect, and it will only get worse from here.
People are desperate. The debacle with the debt crisis now has its first truly visible and immediate consequence: the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Like a patient with obesity, the U.S. is collapsing under the weight of its own gluttonous consumption and appetite for debt. Most people heed the warning signs, and get their weight under control once symptoms like shortness of breath and high blood pressure appear.
Increasing violence is a hallmark of a collapsing society, just as cholesterol levels are the hallmark of heart attacks. We cannot afford to ignore the connection between economic security and physical safety. The answer to being safer is not more guns or more violence, but more help for those who need it. The U.S. has the choice to hand its poor a sandwich or a gun; unfortunately, it seems like Congress is more comfortable with handing out guns than food.
People from States are a special sort, able to turn a blind eye to all but the most immediate of problems. The U.S. continues to hemorrhage money, with no real debate on how to match the spending with revenue. A home-owner might take a second job to cover the bills, but the U.S. has fewer options. Ultimately, taxes must be raised, and the sooner Congress sucks it up and deals with that, the sooner the rest of the country (and the world) can move on with recovery.
In the meantime, keep an eye out for things like this. Work on getting your family in a position where you can move quickly, if necessary. Even if you never need to actually evacuate, having the resources available may still serve you in other ways. Get out of debt.
And most of all, help your neighbor. Your neighbor will be more likely to call the cops if your property is being robbed if they know who you are, if you have helped them with the yardwork, the kids, the pets. Good fences make good neighbors, that's true, but it also helps to build an isolation that causes all to be at risk.
Hopefully these monsters will soon have better things to do than shoot at children's medical helicopters.
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