A moment of your time please

The other day, as I was rushing around after work completing various errands, I was approached by an older man on the street as I left the bank. Being my last stop on a dreary night, and tired from working all day, I was looking forward to finally getting home.

The man said something to me in accented English that I didn’t catch the first time. Admittedly I was tempted to duck my head and carry on towards my car across the street, but then Karri Hour popped into my head! Or Karri minute, or second, or whatever I wanted it to be. So I stopped and smiled at him instead and asked him to repeat himself. His request? For me to call the bus line to see when the next one would be coming, because he didn’t have a cell phone. Did I possibly have one and mind calling? My pleasure, of course! How privileged I felt in that moment for everything I have, and to be able to help him out with such a small part of his day. I then wished I could offer him a ride too, but didn’t have space in the car for his wife as well, who was sitting a few feet away.

Realistically helping this couple took me less time than to brush my teeth at night, and I can’t believe I almost opted not to. So, to Pete and Tracy and Lexi and co., thanks for starting this movement to get us to act more like Karri, and reminding us of how easy that can be.

Paula MacDonald

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