The Kindness of Strangers

This morning I was thinking about the kindness of strangers. Its been one thing that I've noticed more about the south---just how much more people seem to go out of their way at times down here. Several times now I've had gentlemen and women go out of their way to open a door for me when my hands have been full and it just seems that so often people operate on a different level of respect here than what I have been used to experiencing. On my first visit down here I had noticed this difference when a man about my age went out of his way to wait for me and get my bag down from the carry-on compartment. This is the type of thing I rarely experienced in the Northwest, although even there....I've seen plenty of moments of kindness....

My husband and I had witnessed this first hand on our marriage weekend when we watched a SUV flip on an icy snowy road as it was headed toward us. The husband and several others all pulled over to help the man get out of his vehicle and get assistance, but I was amazed even more that almost every single car that passed the scene of the accident stopped to ask if they could be of service. It's moments like these when I feel the reality of humanity and believe that in the depths of our souls we do remember our connections to each other.

Thus its been nice to be somewhere where people seem to demonstrate these moments of stranger kindness on a more frequent basis. And its sort of renewed my own faith in humanity just a little bit more. Now I just need to remember to do these small acts of strangerly kindness myself.....