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Is
it just me, or has this happened to you? You are around people for years, and
suddenly, one day, out of the blue, you look at them differently and really see
them for the first time. I mean really see them. Before, you were aware
of their presence, but you didn’t pay much attention to them. When this happens
to me, and it often does, I have a guilt complex for a long time because I’ve
been so impersonal with a living, breathing person. I then vow it will never happen
again, but it does. I don’t think we have any control over it, do you?
It goes way back to my childhood when I attended Eureka
School. There were only about forty-five kids in the entire school, and I
thought I knew each one as well as could be expected. There were some whom I considered
close friends, some I thought were okay, but that was as far as it went, and then
there were a few I just didn’t like at all due to past problems I had had with
them. Every school has its bullies, and some of the latter fit into that category.
It happened by accident. One day I had a chance to really get to know
the kind of people I had for classmates. When the bell rang at noon, I went to
the cloakroom as I always did to get my lunch box. It wasn’t there. Only then
did I realize I had left it sitting on the kitchen table. To a nine year old,
this is a major tragedy. I know my disappointment showed in my face as I sat down
with the rest of the kids and watched them eat. One of the students to whom I
had hardly spoken was the first to ask me what was wrong. When I explained, she
reached into her lunch sack and handed me a sandwich. She said she had more than
she needed, but I don’t think she did. One at a time, other kids offered part
of their lunches until I had more than even I could eat, and I could eat a lot.
It wouldn’t have been nearly as surprising had all the donations come from my
close friends, but many of those I had not really liked very much were the first
ones to pitch in. It would make a much better story to say that I was so taken
by it all that I couldn’t eat, but my hunger overcame my emotions. At that time
it was the best meal I had ever had. It tasted so much better with the added flavor
of human kindness. |
© George Lester
August 9, 2004 | | |
