Sandy J. Hartwick

All the latest from author, Sandy J. Hartwick

Colorblind

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Colorblind

It was 1974, and Rex, his older brother Mike and his father, John were headed to Elko, Nevada on a deer hunting trip. It was dark, around eight or nine p.m. They had all of their gear and two horses in their trailer as they approached the Carlin tunnel. The tunnel was under construction and traffic was being diverted from the freeway to the old, two lane highway that followed along the river.

They were about halfway along this road when the lights shorted out on the truck. The road was narrow, but John managed to find a wide enough patch along the pavement to get the truck and trailer off the road. It was not the best place, because there was busy traffic on one side  and river on the other. With the hood up and one of the boys holding the flashlight, he tried to find the problem. The emergency flashers wouldn’t even work.

After struggling for some time, a pickup with a cab-over camper pulled up behind them and put on its emergency blinkers. The man was just returning from a deer hunt himself, had seen them broken down, driven until he had found a place to turn around and come back to help.

He and John worked together and finally found that the winch on the truck had rubbed the wiring apart. John patched the wires and they were good to go again. He shook the man’s hand, thanking him for his help.

He and the boys admired the four-point buck the man had harvested. They said goodbye and went their separate ways. Rex still remembers the man’s kindness and finds it remarkable that out of all of the many cars that passed them, a black man from Oakland stopped in the middle of nowhere to help some white people he didn’t know.

“With the hood up and one of the boys holding the flashlight, he tried to find the problem. The emergency flashers wouldn’t even work. ”

Photo by Jonas Verstuyft on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

Kindness from Strangers

by Filed Under: Blog, Kindness 3 Comments

Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels

“He was a veteran; I could tell, because he was wearing a ball cap that mentioned his service in Vietnam. “

Kindness from Strangers

Have you ever experienced kindness from a stranger? I am not talking about the general civility of holding open a door for another person or letting someone into line in front of you at the grocery store, which are wonderful things and sadly seem to be becoming rare events. I am talking about someone going out of their way to help you, turning a bad situation into something better.

In an age where people judge you for most anything, your political affiliations, your tattoos or whatever, it is refreshing to experience such kindness or let’s call it what it is…love.

A few years ago I was at lunch with my parents at a popular Italian restaurant chain. My father decided he needed to use the restroom and it was a long walk from where we were seated to the bathrooms.  My father was tottery, the Parkinson’s disease he suffered with was making him dizzy and it was difficult for him to walk. I held his arm as we walked slowly to the back of the restaurant. I had no idea how I was going to help him once we reached the restrooms.

As we reached the restroom door, a man older than me, but younger than my father, approached and told me he would help my dad. He was a veteran; I could tell, because he was wearing a ball cap that mentioned his service in Vietnam. I was so relieved and amazed that someone had come to help me in this situation!

After a while they both came out the restroom and I thanked him profusely. I walked my father back to the table feeling grateful and blessed.  To some, I suppose it was a small thing, but to me it meant so much. I didn’t have to humiliate my father by taking him into the women’s restroom or embarrass both of us by taking him into the men’s room. A stranger saw the situation and got up from his meal to help us.

So many say they want to bridge the divisiveness we are seeing in our country these days. Let’s do it. Start by showing kindness to your fellow man. Do something without expecting  any thanks or compensation. And most of all, don’t prejudge your neighbors, you do not know their hearts or experience. Kindness is free.

 

 

 

Kindness is Free

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     Kindness is contagious and spreads much faster than Covid-19.

Kindness is Free

I once read somewhere that people don’t care how much you know, but how kind you are. This is true for me. I gravitate to those who exude kindness. And honestly, how many enjoy the company of a jerk? It is surprising to me how many people are quite happy being jerks though, especially on the internet, where they say things to others that they would never say in person.

Today, I was feeling a bit down. (I know, I know, I can hear you saying, “What about the attitude of gratitude in your previous blog Sandy? Walk that talk girl!” I try, but some days…)

We had to go to town to buy paint for the never-ending bathroom remodel and run some other errands. I was looking at the Flex-Seal display in the paint department thinking about yet another project, when a woman with gorgeous red locks walked by and said, “What lovely hair!”

It slowly registered that she was talking to me.  I said thank you and smiled although I was wearing the obligatory mask. She said something else, like “beautiful”, but I don’t remember, because I was thinking about how earlier I had been looking in the mirror wishing I could see my hairdresser.

My hair has grown out at least two inches and my sexy grays are showing! My hairdresser is in Reno and I have not been able to get down there, because of the endless remodel and being at the beck and call of contractors who are scarce as long T-Rex arms and darn you have to be home when they have a damn minute to fit you in.

I managed to tell her that her hair was so pretty, which it was and then she disappeared into the depths of the store. We were outside loading our purchases before I realized that I had complimented two other people and let one person in line in front of me since  the time of her kind words.

Kindness is contagious and spreads much faster than Covid-19. Kindness is free friends. Please get out there and infect as many as you can. And dear lady with the amazing red hair God bless you and thank you for making my day.