LIFESTYLE

The kindness of strangers with bagels

Monica Holland
mholland@fayobserver.com
Monica Holland

I had a Monday.

After ordering a bagel before realizing I’d left my cash and cards locked in my car with the keys, I could only shake my head.

“Do you want the bagel toasted?” I looked up to see a sweet face, smiling.

“Cancel the order, please. I’m sorry.” I felt so pathetic.

“Orange juice!” My little girl was oblivious.

“Do you want the bagel toasted?” She was still smiling.

“I don’t have my card. I’ve locked myself out of my car. You’ll have to cancel the order. I apologize.” Nope, not even a few loose singles in the diaper bag to bail me out.

“Do. You. Want. It. Toasted?” Her easy smile had turned into a look of resolve. She was giving me that French toast bagel with strawberry cream cheese whether I liked it or not.

“Toasted would be nice.”

A couple of weeks ago, in another town, I saw a woman at a coffee shop order and then freak out because she realized she’d left her wallet on the bus. She had three kids with her and she was ultimately kicked out for leaving them unattended, but not before unleashing a screaming fit onto the barista that culminated with a dust-off of your favorite insult from third grade: “Weirdo!”

That scene fast-forwarded through my mind as I stood at the counter Monday.

“This is very nice of you.” I tried to express gratitude. I probably bowed my head. I’m a weirdo, too.

Some people understand the power of kindness. Some people realize that when we raise up others, we are also raising up ourselves.

Some of us have had the realization that humankind could potentially be limitless if we would all work together. And before the thought is even complete, we know it’ll never happen.

Someone will always get greedy.

And when we’re at the mercy of a stranger because our electronic key fob safety feature failed, it’s a toss up: Will the woman behind the counter show kindness or will she shrug?

I still expect people to be nice. I know they might not, but I’m more surprised by coldness than warmth.

I heard people say “You’re in my light” a lot when I was a kid. It usually meant that I was shading someone’s efforts at fixing something, making it harder for them to see what they were doing.

Now, when someone says to me, “You’re in my light,” it usually means that they are having a picture taken, selfie or otherwise, and I’m blocking the illumination that will make their eyes shine.

That’s telling, isn’t it? We used to focus more on repair and working with our hands to get more life out of our appliances. Now, our attention is on social media appearances and we’ll just buy something new instead of fixing what’s broken.

It’s not entirely our fault. “They don’t make ‘em like they used to,” after all. It’s a consumer culture, and our products aren’t exactly built to last — like my electronic key fob.

I think from now on, though, the saying will mean something more to me. “You’re in my light” might come to mind when someone shows kindness.

In that case, I’ll try to stay there.

Sunday Life editor Monica Holland can be reached at mholland@fayobserver.com or 486-3518.