 "Photo: Courtesy of Kristal Conn")
Are we becoming too busy to stop and lend a hand? When did acts of kindness become an inconvenience?
For a while, I alleged that favors were a thing of the past. Fortunately, my faith in others changed after my trip to Zurich, Switzerland this past summer.
Staying in Italy, I decided to venture off and take an overnight train to Switzerland for the opening of the European Cup - which is like the Super Bowl in America, except that they play soccer and it's held in Europe.
When I arrived, I felt like a stranger in a city that was packed like tiny sardines in a can. Luckily that night, I found a plethora of Italian fans. We drank beer together while watching our butts get annihilated in the first game against Holland. The next day looked as beautiful and sunny as the first, but this time, the games were in the morning. I had all afternoon to do whatever I wanted before heading back on the night train to Florence, Italy.
Dying to see the movie "Sex and the City," I found tram No. 5 and paid an outrageous 18 Swiss francs - approximately $18 in America - and watched my life, in a nutshell, on the big screen.
After the movie, I had exactly an hour to catch the tram, grab my luggage and hop on the train. To my dismay, as I opened the door of the theater, I thought I was stepping into a scene from "The Perfect Storm."
I was in the most severe thunderstorm Zurich had seen in months. Wearing a dress and sandals, I put my long legs to use and raced to the tram.
Drenched, a woman with dark blue eyes, dirty blond hair and a pretty smile stood next to me as we waited. After 15 minutes, I was on the verge of tears and scared to death that I was either going to get struck by lightning or miss my train. The woman looked uneasy as well, so we tried calming our nerves by explaining our situations. A taxi screeched up along the other side of the street, and the woman suggested that I take it or else I would be doomed. It was a great idea, except I was broke.
Next thing I know, the woman rips out a bill and shoves it in my hand. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and sprinted to the bright yellow car of hope. I jumped in the back seat, gave the driver directions and looked back for one more glimpse of my guardian angel.
We arrived at the train station and I gave him what I thought were 20 francs. Jumping out of the car, the man yelled, "Wait, you forgot your change!" The gracious woman had given me 60 Swiss francs! I cried. I couldn't believe that someone who I met for 15 minutes gave me more than I make in two weeks at work and never thought twice about it.
My tears said it all. This was the first act of kindness I had truly ever experienced, and I didn't even know my angel's name.
So, while others are maybe lost in their own lives, I take time to to give money to an old homeless woman, help my friend unpack her things or chat for 20 minutes with the lonely man who goes unnoticed every day he passes by my work.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.Comments
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