Kindness Matters

This morning was supposed to be my running errands morning. I had a few Christmas gifts to pick up, I needed a few more bits and pieces for the gifts I'm making, Mischief needs a pair of pants for his concert tonight and I ordered a slew of pictures for the 'Surprise' calendar I make for my mom every year. A busy morning but I was looking forward to getting everything done at once. That was the plan until I became the Angel of Darkness.

Everywhere I went this morning the power went out. Seriously. I walked into Superstore and five minutes later the power went out. I went for gas at Canadian Tire and BOOM no power. I run into Walmart to pick up my pictures and SHAZAM darkness.

I manage to make it home (no traffic lights anywhere along the route ... no good) and pull into my driveway. I hit the remote for the garage door to open and POW the door gets halfway up and then stops. I duck under the door and let myself into the house and sure enough, no power here either!

I figure I have either become an energy sapping super hero a la X-men (oh, that's no so bad ... I could handle a little time with Wolverine!) or Mr. Awesome is out somewhere in this freezing wind, chilled to the bone, trying to sort this mess out. Turns out its option B.

They are still trying to sort things out around town but the power's back on at home. My errands are only partly done but at least I am home and warm and cranking out the Christmas tunes. I still have my Good Cheer groove on so its all good but I wish I could say the same for some of the people I encountered today.

Most people took the power outages in stride but there were a few crazies out there, too. And I must confess that I can't confirm or deny that I may or may not have possibly told one of the button heads off at Walmart. After waiting around for 15 minutes to see if the power was going to come back on I decided to just head home. I was on my way out of the store when I passed a man in the foyer of the store complaining loudly about Hydro employees.

"Those lazy SOBs are probably sitting at Tim's enjoying a cup of coffee right now. I only have 15 minutes before I have to get back to work. I wish they'd pull their heads out of their own you-know-whats and get to work. Its my tax dollars their wasting!"

"Yeah, this kind of bites," I say. "I have a huge list of errands I wanted to get done too this morning. DO you work in an office?"

"Yes"

"Heated?"

"Of course"

"Hmmm, that's great. So you are warm and comfortable at work?"

"Yes?"

"Well, my husband doesn't work in an office. He, in fact, works for Hydro. So when you return to your warm and comfortable office to complain about 'those lazy Hydro SOBs' know that he is outside, right now trying to restore power. He is climbing poles in these winds and messing with electricity so that thankful citizens such as yourself can have heat and light and power. Merry Christmas!"

So, children, as you are running too and fro this season you may encounter some inconveniences but please remember the people working the tow trucks, driving the buses, policing our streets, driving the ambulances and restoring your power are just doing their jobs. Jobs they chose. Jobs they love and take pride in. So please be kind and respectful and look at that 'inconvience' as an opportunity to spread a little Good Cheer rather than complaints.

Always be a little kinder than necessary.
~James M. Barrie