Really?

Every time I read or hear about what’s going in the world, whether it be CNN, local newspaper, or Perez Hilton’s website, I get the feeling that the world is about to go down the drain with no hope of redemption.  I mean, seriously, the very first thing I see when I log on to my Yahoo is Osama Bin Laden’s face and under it, more headlines about bombings, recessions, and crimes.  So, really, do you blame me for thinking we are nearing Apocalypse?

However, just as when I am about to do what the Heaven's Gate cult did and wait for my comet to whisk me away to safety, I meet people who show me there is always a silver lining.  Just this Saturday, while attending a cancer meeting in which the topic was the importance of exercise, I voiced out my frustration about my inability to work out the way I used to.  Since I lost my leg, my natural klutziness has been amplified by a missing, um, stand…LOL!  So, as you can imagine, between trying to balance myself and actually strengthening the what I'd like to refer to as soft tissues on my baloney, working out is just something that is not possible.   A lot of suggestions were made, all costing money.  Now, I don’t know about you, but our source of income is not from the money tree or the duck that lays golden eggs, so anything that has a monetary cost to it is something that I don’t want to think about. 

Enter Mr. Good guy.  Let’s call him Bill.  (Okay, that’s his name, but exactly how uncommon is Bill anyway?)  He told me that he has a recumbent  bike in his house.  It has all the parts and manual that went with it when he bought it and that if I want the bike, I can have it.  I gave him the WTF look (NB: I always have a WTF look…LOL!), looked at my husband who was with me, and looked at him again, all the while, thinking to myself, “This guy probably thinks I have the money for this shizzit.”  Rather than giving him my NY-acquired attitude, I just skeptically asked, “How much do you want for it?” 

His reply floored me, not because it was an exorbitant amount, or because I thought he was being fresh.  He sincerely and simply said, “Nothing.”  Really!  He said, “Nothing.”  He then added that I was doing him a favor since it’s only collecting dust in his garage.  He still kept on talking and explaining on what it does, but in my head, all I could think about was, “Really?” 

So, what am I getting at here?  See, we live in a cynical world.  Time and time again, the media highlights all the bad things in the world that may lead us to believe that good people are just things of the past.  In addition, there are people out there who are just evil both innately and by choice.  These elements will lead most people, myself included, to think that we are all alone and it’s every person for themselves.  Yet, just as when it seems that the world is about to crumble, there are people like Bill who assure us that just as evil is everywhere, so is goodness.   It is up to us whether we want to succumb to darkness or look for that glimmer of hope. 

 So, thank you Bill.  Thank you for that glimmer of hope.