The girl in the bank!!

A little story from last year. When I was driving last year I would go down to Philadelphia once a week. I remember one trip where I was going to make it home in time to hang out with my lovely family for the evening. This is always a treat and I don't waste any time when coming home on days like that. In fact, on this particular day I was driving together with someone else and the race was on to see who was going to make it home first. When I got to Niagara I was excited from the drive and the fact that I was so close to home but, I had one stop left to make.

That was the bank.

Now, it was closed so all I had access to were the machines to do my transaction. When I walked into the abandoned building there was a girl sitting on the floor beside a small shopping cart. I assumed she wanted to get out of the cold for a bit and paid no attention to what she was doing. (Remember, I'm almost home. That is where my mind is.) As I begin my business at the ATM I hear a muffled something come out of her mouth. It sounded as though she was drunk. I turned to see what was going on and she was holding a card out to me. I couldn't help but think, Is this drunk girl really interrupting me as I'm trying to make it home to see my family. So, at that I raised my hand palm out in a gesture that clearly stated - You are bothering me and wasting my time and I will get to you when I'm ready. I finished what I needed to do and then turned around to leave preparing to face the girl. But, when I turned, she was facing the other direction. I was so relieved and thought that I could make a quick escape before she could yet take more time from my busy life. As I walked by her and went through the doors she didn't notice me leaving at all. What a score! My day of rushing to see my family has finally paid off. I will get to say hi to the kids before they're off to bed and the evening is mine.

When I turned around to get into my car I realized what just happened. The look on the girl's face as she looked at me leaving her was enough to break any man's heart. It took me a bit but it finally came to me that the drunk bothersome girl at the bank was not that at all. Instead she was a lonely deaf woman probably taking shelter from the cold and looking for a little help. The "drunken voice" I heard was her attempt at getting my attention. And the reason I made it out without her noticing was because she couldn't hear me opening the door and leave. And here I was, too busy with my life to spend an extra 30 seconds to interact with someone who possibly needed it at the time.

It took me quite a while to get over the fact that I did that. If you know me, it's not even character of who I am. And maybe that is what bothered me the most about it. And, no, I didn't go back in to see what I could do to rectify the situation.

Opportunity lost.

I'm sure this is a lesson that we have all been taught from time to time. Let's take some time today and notice those that are around us. Life is full of opportunities that are available everyday. It is up to us to keep our eyes open and take them when they come our way.

Enjoy your blessed life today!

Mark :)