While I was selling tulips in the subway I had a lot of people come up and ask for directions. The only problem with this is that I don’t take the subway that often especially the second of the two lines that are there, so I wasn’t very helpful to some. But I tried. One woman I sent the wrong way and realized it as the train was pulling up so I had to run up and tell her my mistake before she got on.
Once I got comfortable giving directions I saw a man, who reminded me a lot of my dad, come up from the subway looking red faced. The set of stairs he came up from were facing the back of the station, and his back was to the trains. I saw the look of confusion on his face, as he paused for a moment with that, “what the hell”, look on his face. Slowly he looked around and finally realized that there were trains behind him, and off he went. I saw him walk off into the crowd, and in my head I wished him well.
About 10 minutes later I saw this man come back around, his face as red as a tomato, as he stood at the top of the stairs that he had come up from. He stepped back from them and just starred at the tracks facing him. I knew he was absolutely lost and had no idea where to go.
I thought of my dad, who would probably get a little turned around but would never ask anyone for help because he didn’t want to admit he couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t stand it, and I walked up to him telling him I had seen him come up and asked him if I could help. He was very appreciative, and I was able to help him out no problem. He started to walk away but turned back, grabbed my hand, shaking it vigorously and thanked me enthusiastically.
I’ve been lost before and had to ask for directions...many many times in fact. I know how frustrating it can be to be in a strange place and not know where to go. I was glad I could help him. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe more people should try it.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
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