Peter and I have really noticed on this trip how very kind so many people are. Several times I had to ask if I was on the right train on the subway or have somebody clarify the circle line versus the district line in London and the person I asked would very willing to help and the people next to the person I asked were also willing to help. Sometimes 2 or 3 people came forward to help – or to discuss my best route. In one case, the woman said she was getting off on the next stop and would walk me to the correct platform. Sometimes people would check something for me – or make sure I got going in the right direction.
We are in Wales now staying at a bed and breakfast and the owner picked us up at the railroad station which is about 45 minutes away from this town. He also arranged for me to see a nurse because I’ve had a lingering cough since the day before we left which is not serious but it was helpful to see this nurse and learn it wasn’t bronchitis or anything more serious. It turns out that she was a nurse for the second unit of the da Vinci code film which was directed by Ron Howard who has endorsed several of my books. That was a cute coincidence and she was so helpful.
We have had several cute experiences which would not have happened if something had not gone wrong. Our train to Wales for the last part of the journey was canceled for some reason which had to do with not having a crew. (That’s a good reason!) So we had to get off at the station about an hour away from the station where we were supposed to go to and they had to provide a taxi to take us to the station where we were supposed to go. The taxi had room for three people so a woman named Paula came with us in the taxi. She was going to the same town we were going to which was Hay on Wye in Wales but the taxi was only taking us to Hereford which was about 40 minutes away from Hay. I suggested that I ask the bed-and-breakfast owner if we could fit her into his car as well so she didn’t have to wait two hours for a bus and she said that was very cheeky of me and I said that Americans are cheeky and let’s see if we could make this work. David, the owner had a little green Saab convertible and we were all determined that Paula would not have to wait two hours for that bus and by packing us all into the little car we managed. It turns out that Paula lives in London right around the corner from the hotel where we were staying in London. And she is a delightful and very interesting person who is going to “pop into” our bed-and-breakfast to say hello at some point during the weekend.
We tried to think of canceled trains as in adventure and not problem. In the another case the subway was delayed and we took a cab and the cabdriver had been a cabdriver several times for Julian Fellowes who is the creator and writer of Downton Abbey, which is one of our favorite shows. So we have had interesting conversations as well.
There is probably a reason why the Bible says not only should we help people in need but to recognize our need as well and did not be afraid to be vulnerable – it certainly makes us feel connected with each other and connected with the Goodness in the world.