The Things We See.......

I just have to get this off my chest, actually more like get it out of my chest....it is sitting heavy on my heart! I say that because it is causing such a ache that I just need to say it to really feel it and then move on. It may be all over the place and I promise I will do my best to bring it all into focus in the end! I was at the bank today, sitting at the drive through window with the kids all busy with each other. I watched a young man walk into the bank, I know him or you could say I know of him. I had known him from his job at our local Mobil gas station, he was the most polite 17 year old I had ever met, just the nicest kid. He always answered and asked a question with "Mam" and always finished one with "Thank You" and he was always sincere. My husband knew him a little better than I did and he had talked to him about all his dreams and aspirations. He had plans to go to collage and maybe even the military. He just seemed so responsible with such a bright future. He still has a bright future ahead for him, just not the one he planned I am sure. I remember going to the accident, my husband had forgotten his coat and called to ask me to bring it up to him. I had asked him on the phone how bad it was, he really didn't say much. I know him.... if this is his reaction than this is one that he is deeply bothered by. I was pregnant with my youngest daughter at the time so I didn't get too close to the scene, but I could tell from the fury around the car it wasn't good! Life-star was landing as they were working to get him out of the mangled mess of car that was wrapped around the tree. It was the young man from the Mobil station. That young vibrant kid with the hazel eyes that just always struck me for some reason. You know, those people that come into your life for some reason or another and they just "stick".....they just "stick"! He made it through the car accident but he had suffered massive head injuries, non the less he had made it. He always smiles and loves to visit, it seems like he just likes to be around people. Well, it was him at the counter I could see him through the big window, a perpetual smile on his face and just happy to be chatting with someone. I could tell the bank teller was becoming annoyed with him as he sheepishly pulled rolled coins from his pocket and then finished up with a handful of loose coins. She counted them, then turned to the manager and showed him the coins, I assume she was asking permission to take them in trade for bills. All the while he stood waiting with a smile trying to make small talk. I am always asked how I would like my bills when I go to the bank, he was not offered that option, so when he asked for smaller bills I could see the tellers patience was being tested. She put the money on the counter and promptly turned away, leaving him standing there "Thanking" her back. I did get tears in my eyes and I so wanted to tell her his story as she apologized for the wait. I knew I would not be able to get through without becoming a sobbing mess, so I left it alone. It has bothered me all day that we have become such a complaisant society, that we don't care to know each others story. That we are so very busy with our own lives that we can just dismiss one another without a second thought. His pure innocence and desire to please the very people who become annoyed with the simplest requests are so very disheartening to me. It makes me see how far from simple human kindness we have come. Are we really so self-consumed and busy that we have pushed the good aside to make room for everything else? I am sad that "goodness" is such an endangered moral in this day and age. I see a lack of it even in my children and I don't know how to teach them different. They see so much of it every day of their lives....from T.V. shows, to other children at school and even in the games they play. I will do my best to instill in my children empathy and that simple kindness makes a better world. I am thankful to be surrounded by all the wonderful people in my life, new & old friends. They help remind me every day that there are people who still believe in the importance of knowing each others story. Sometimes all you need is a hand.....to hold or just resting on your shoulder.....sometimes all it takes is a smile ....... a minute, just sixty seconds worth of listening.....just to be looked in the eye and heard......simple and easy! Thank you to everyone who still makes an effort to make a difference in someones life, just because it is the right thing to do!