Tuesday, June 12, 2012

I've Been Thinking. . .

I know I write a lot about my bus rides, but there are times when things that happen to me there get me to thinking.  Like, about random acts of kindness.

Until this week, I rode the Santa Monica red bus into, you guessed it, Santa Monica and back, three days a week.  It's a long schlep, but it's a simple straight line, point A to point B situation and I'd rather not drive.  But this bus is usually crowded in the morning, as it passes through several cities to get to its destination.

My feet have been hurting me lately, as I've noted several times before.  So standing is kinda hard for me, but what choice do I have?  Well, one morning last week, a seat opened up and a woman, Hispanic, non-English speaker, tapped me to let me know.  I was grateful, but I couldn't get to the seat because the bus was still moving and there was another passenger in my way.

Well, the woman grabbed my carry on bag and put it on the seat to save it for me.  A complete stranger went out of her way to get me the seat.  I was overwhelmed.  I couldn't express it in Spanish, but I gave her the biggest smile and nodded my head in appreciation.

It got me to thinking.  One mitzvah a day.  One kind deed a day.  It can't be that hard.  So I've embarked on this crusade to do one nice thing for someone each and every day.  Yesterday, I gave my day parking pass to a woman waiting in line to buy one (at CSULA, $6 gives you a pass until midnight).  I got there at 8:30 am and left at 3 pm.  I told the woman she would have to leave by midnight, which she assured me she would.

I won't force the issue.  I'll let situations play out and let kindness take the lead.  I figure, it's good practice.


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