Be the Reason

It all started with the quest for a bottle of water and a twisted turn of path as well as events led to an unlikely meeting that triggered a domino effect which has culminated to this write up. George Carlin once said “The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.” I had spotted several places along the way to make the purchase but my wife talked me out of it and so I had little choice but to soldier on. I couldn’t talk to myself because I had company but deep down I was convinced that I had accepted the wrong answer. Owing to heavy traffic coupled with a diversion of sorts in an area I was unfamiliar with, I found myself in uncharted territory and things got murky.

We finally made it out of the maze and arrived at the mall that is a stone throw away from our humble abode. The silver lining is that amid all the chaos we accomplished several other objectives set out for the day. Whoever coined the phrase life is not a straight line was on to something and I learnt this the hard way that day. I crossed my fingers and hoped against all hopes that we’d find the water in the last point of resort. I was forced to park in the basement and to my delight, we parked right next to a water filling station. The song all my enemies are suffering played at the right precise moment. The person who denied me parking at the convenient spot proved to me that all things work together for good as per the scriptures.

We were drawn to the ambience and the purification process was laid out bare to all and sundry. In as much as the attendant wasn’t as knowledgeable as we had hoped, the writing on the wall worked to his advantage and the price did not put a dent in our pocket. Shortly thereafter, his boss arrived and we immediately hit it off. I picked up some nuances in the conversation and asked him if he once lived in the land of the free. He responded to the affirmative and added that he lived in the dirty south before taking the bold move to head back home. East west home is best was his clarion call. The same case applied to me and this formed the basis of our connection. I walked out of there an hour later feeling upbeat and uplifted. Marcel Proust’s quote as follows best summed the interaction “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

My car once broke down in the middle of nowhere smack in the middle of dirty south. The irony is that the intention of the travel was to spend thanksgiving with family and this goes to show that the universe has a deep sense of humor. Getting to your destination in one piece will give you more to be grateful for seemed to be the lesson set in store for me. My heart skipped a beat when the car failed to accelerate despite my best effort. To make matters worse is that I had just overtaken a worthy opponent and barely a minute later going uphill proved to be a battle. To this day I still remember the grin on his face when he passed me. I could have sworn I saw a cloud of dust following him thereafter as I battled with my issues.

A bright and sunny day all of a sudden became gloomy. A person has two hands, one for helping himself, the other for helping others is a quote I had heard before. Little did I know that this was about to be proved true. Shortly thereafter, an older gentleman pulled over as I plotted on the next course of action. I approached him with caution. The dread of becoming another statistic crossed my mind. When he reached out for something in his pocket, I knew my fate was sealed. It turned out to be a spanner and I heaved a sigh of relief. He was a local mechanic who made it a habit to take a lap on the interstate highway lest he came across someone in need. The chicken that digs for food will not sleep hungry.

The automobile was towed to his yard and he embarked on the process of troubleshooting the problem. He took his sweet time and spent more time talking. This irked me in the sense that I needed to get this over and done with. However, he was more concerned about getting to learn more about the motherland as he spilled nuggets of wisdom gathered through the many years he had spent on earth. He offered food, snacks and soft drinks came rolling. He also took several cigarettes break in between hence I felt my goose was cooked. Making it out of there in good time would be a tall order. To top it all, we took the long scenic route around the city when we went to get spare parts. When I finally left, I knew more about the city and cars than I did before. The icing on the cake is that I parted with less money than I had anticipated. Friendship is more important than money and triumphs all else was his parting shot. To this day, his words echo through my mind. Do good and disappear like Wi-Fi during a zoom call. Paying it forward is highly encouraged.

I once held a job and was oblivious of the fact that it was causing my family immense anxiety. The airwaves was filled with incidences of people who had been maimed or robbed at a convenience store. However, I enjoyed the daily interaction with customers and security or lack thereof was the least of my concerns. To make things worse, I worked the graveyard shift. He who hides under a chicken feather should not sneeze is a proverb which acts as a reminder that flimsy protection will do little to save you if you draw attention to yourself. With that said, I kept off trouble and knew how to spot one. I had also developed a rapport with a highway patrol officer who kept his eye on me. Many a times he would park outside in the dark at the furthest end of the lot. I would only note his presence when he needed an extra cup of coffee or when he would start the engine and lights on as he made his way out to catch the bad guys out there.

Friday nights were interesting. Aside from seeing exposed skin and thwarting off intoxicated lasses’ attempt at getting free items in exchange of seeing more than I was supposed to, danger lurked beneath the surface but it was mostly racially charged hate speech that did not amount to much. The pattern was broken one such evening when a lad grabbed a handful of items and took to his heels. The stars were not aligned in his favor in the sense that no sooner than he took to his heels than his escape attempt was thwarted by the officer who stood guard outside.

The officer needed to grab a donut or two before heading out and by happenstance they met slightly outside the door. A tackle sent the lad falling and as he came into contact with the ground, the items were scattered all over the ground. I had an easy time picking everything up and was filled with immense gratitude. Had it not been for the Officer, I would have had a rough night. The incident reminded me of the proverb that states “Do not protect yourself by a fence but rather your friends. “In conclusion, the three narratives demonstrates the need to make a difference in other people’s lives no matter how small or insignificant the effect is. Be the reason why someone is happy. Be the reason someone gets to their destination and be the reason why someone feels protected.