It truly pays to be nice! One thing I know to be true is that People
respond positively, always, to a genuine smile.
More and more I am learning that small acts of kindness have real
rewards as well. Nemo, the Blizzard that
brought me to my knees in the loneliness department, also showed me that People
are generally good.
I couldn’t get out to work until Tuesday. Due to the condition of the sidewalks and
roads in Boston, I decided to park close to my office. Wrong decision, all my standby lots and then
some were full. That had never happened
to me. So, I went back to my preferred
lot in the South End. (Preferred because it’s cheap, $12! And it gives me a
mile walk to and from work.) It was
full, too. I guess this was a good time
to not have a polker face as I must have looked how I felt, about to cry (from
frustration).
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| Jude |
Not the first time, my wonderful Parking Lot Man, Jude,
said “Wait”, and he pulled his car out of a spot and gave his now vacant spot
to me. Another Lady watched as my
Jude had sent her away due to the full lot.
A bit of history, the week of Christmas 2011, I gave
Jude an extra $3, and said, “Merry Christmas”.
He explained that he did not celebrate Christmas, and I said, “Happy Holidays,
then!” You would have thought it was a
million$. A few times after that, I just
told him to keep the change when I gave Him $15. I didn’t know I had made a friend.
One late morning (2-3 days a week I work 9am-5pm, 2
days I work noon-7pm) last spring I again pulled in and saw lot was full. Jude came out smiling (he always has a big
beautiful smile) and told me to wait. He
went to his car and pulled it out of his space.
Another young Man was working that day.
He asked me if I was very important for Jude to be doing this for me? That nice young Man also got a few $3 tips
over the past year and these wonderful Guys take good care of me.
This week on Tuesday, a week and a half after Nemo
and following another weekend snowstorm that gave the Boston area another 5-6
inches of snow (so much for the easy winter we thought we were having), I pulled
into the South End lot and Jude was not smiling when he said he had no where to
put me. The next day Jude was smiling
again as I parked and was profusely apologizing for Tuesday when I said that
was unnecessary. I explained that on
Tuesdays and Thursdays I work late and totally understood. Thursday when I pulled in, the lot looked
full, I was driving out when Jude stopped me and brought me to a spot he has saved. I now have a true Friend!
I’ll give one more, quick, example of the power of
simply being nice, and the rewards reaped.
Years ago I brought a good Friend and her Daughters to New York City (a
common theme in my life). We were
staying at a cool B&B in the East Village.
On Saturday we had plans to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island. We slept through breakfast so we
meandered over to Soho, to Balthazar, an awesome, very popular French
Bistro. There was a huge line. I asked the Host, calmly, and I guess very
nicely, if he could give me any idea of how long the wait was, explaining I
understood how frustrating that question was to him. He looked at me for a second, told me to
wait, he took a walk around, and then brought us to a table immediately. Yes, Balthazar in Soho, New York City. Never forgot that lesson. Obviously it’s still working!
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| From Popsilkiezs on Yelp |
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| From Ed U on Yelp |
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