That's Love

Last night was the first Frist Friday celebration. It was so much fun and enjoyable to run into friends enjoying the warm weather and good music. Of course, I took the bus there and left in time to catch the Hillsboro bus headed home.

As soon as I sat down on the bus to change from my 'party shoes' to my 'walking home' shoes, an older gentleman sitting close by chose to tell me his love story. He started out saying that he had been married to the love of his life for 50 years until her recent death. He also made it a point to let me know that neither of them had been unfaithful the entire time they were together. When he asked the preacher to marry them those many years ago, he asked the preacher to pronounce them not only husband and wife, but also best friends. He said they exchanged more than wedding rings that day, they exchanged best friend rings. Who knew they had BFF rings back in the day?

Awhile after their marriage, he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam war. When he returned home to her, he brought a couple of white flags used to symbolize surrender. Upon walking in the door, he knelt down, kissed her ankles and presented these white flags to her. When she asked for an explanation, he told her the meaning of the white flags and told her instead of surrendering to the enemy, he was surrendering to her, to be faithful and care for her always.

They worked hard together to purchase one home and then a second, renting out the first and saving their hard earned money along the way. After awhile, she suffered a stroke and needed outside care and attention. Being a hard worker and devoted husband, he sold their first home to be able to pay for her to have someone come in their home and care for her during the day while he was at work. He has worked for Vanderbilt for close to 40 years, and he made it a point to tell me he has only missed 15 days during that entire time, even during his wife's illness.

Eventually, he needed to also sell the second home they were living in to continue to pay for his wife's care. He said they gladly moved into an apartment so she could want for nothing while he worked during the day. Friends asked why he would give up property to pay for such care, and he replied then as he did to me yesterday: he made a promise that she would want for nothing as long as he was able to work and provide. She has since passed away, but I could still see the intense satisfaction in his face from fulfilling that promise to his wife and best friend.

He shared this entire story with me over a ten minute ride from Broadway to the MCC bus depot. But his story of true love and sacrifice will stay with me for a long time. Love like that is worth waiting and working for. Beautiful, right?

Nashville Bikes to Work - Friday May 18

It was very exciting to meet a group of other East Nashville and Inglewood residents at Five Points prepared to ride to work together. We headed out as two groups down Woodland to the Public Square where others from all over the city were gathering. The organization Walk/Bike Nashville organized the event in honor of the National Bike to Work Day. Mayor Dean rode his bike to the Square as well, and we were all glad to be a part of an event that was being repeated throughout the country.

I had planned to ride my bike to the Square and then put my bike on a bike rack on the front of the bus and ride the bus the rest of the way to work. But my friend Alycia who also works in the same area convinced me that we could make the ride together. And we did! We took a route that led us through downtown, through the Gulch to Music Row and right down Edgehill to USN and Vanderbilt. We were shouting in triumph at our accomplishment!

I decided to leave my bike there after work and return this morning to make the return trip home my morning workout. I rode the bus there and biked back to East Nashville, all within an hour in the cool morning air. What a great feeling of accomplishment yesterday and this morning.

Shared Blessings

This morning as I walked briskly (okay, I was running) to the bus, I decided I was long overdue for a new pair of good walk/work shoes. The trick is to find something functional and fashionable at the same time, not as simple of a task as it sounds. During the winter I wear Dansko clogs and make them as fashionable as possible. And last summer I found Dansko sandals that were cute and comfortable. But since last summer, these sandals have seen many miles of walking, and the wear and tear is starting to show.

I must admit, when I go to The Walking Company in Green Hills Mall for my quarterly purchase, it's not an inexpensive trip. But I reason (or rationalize) that the money I save being car-less substantiates investing in quality shoes. Instead of a good set of tires, I buy the shoes that support my feet and posture as I walk the miles I would otherwise drive. This rationale works for me, okay?

So, this evening Michael at The Walking Company took great care of me as I tried on and purchased the latest pair of Dansko sandals that I've been eyeing for a couple of months. Of course, they fit like a glove and looked great. And I think Michael now has a little better appreciation of how important it is for a shoe to be comfortable but cute, at least that's what he told me as I handed him my debit card!

We rode the bus to the depot to catch our bus home when an older gentleman approached me. I admit, I thought to myself (while wearing my new expensive shoes), 'What does he want?' He explained that he had been cleaning offices all day and had a bus pass to get him home for the evening, but not enough to get a bus pass to go back to work tomorrow so would I please give him the money to buy a bus pass. Again, I admit I thought, 'Do I just have 'sucker' written all over my forehead?' But then compassion kicked in and I wondered what would be the harm in buying him a bus pass for the next day? If he wasn't honest, at least he could get to where he needed to be. And who am I with my new shoes on to question his story? I've been blessed to be able to 'invest' in shoes, why shouldn't I share the blessing and help him out? I couldn't resist.

Well he just happened to be catching the same bus home as we were, so I bought him a pass to use tomorrow, he was grateful and I walked home from the bus stop guilt free. Did I buy the bus pass to help this guy out or to justify spending so much money on a pair of shoes? Either way, no harm done, right? Lesson learned: Be blessed and share your blessings.

Precious Moments

Rough weekend personally, ladies and gentlemen, that's all I can say. Monday was actually a relief and the day ended with an opportunity to share all I am grateful for. I was still in a funk from the weekend's happenings, but was reminded of how wonderful and blessed life can be by two co-workers recounting near death experiences. One was a woman who came home just in time to find her husband in desperate need of medical attention, and the other happened to have a heart attack at the right time and right place. He recounted to us this morning how the woman he now calls his guardian angel was on her way to a sales call to sell cardiac medication when she noticed him going down. Had he been anywhere else, or if she were not as acutely aware, he may not have been there today to remind us of how blessed we all are despite the challenges.

Speaking of being where we are supposed to be at the proper time, this evening we were on our way home from the grocery store. As I sat at the MTA bus depot, I thought to myself what a waste of time this was to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the next bus. As I sat there, a young man with a beautiful baby came to me and asked for a dollar or two to get dinner for the baby. He also mentioned they were homeless. It's not up to me to judge whether this adorable baby was part of his con game. I had just been to the grocery store, so I asked if the baby could eat yogurt and I gave him some of what I had just purchased. And since I carry enough to almost be called an official 'bag lady', of course, I had a spoon in my lunch bag. The yogurt and a couple of apples later, all I could do is sit back on the seat, wait for that bus and realize why I needed to be right there at that moment. We are all where we need to be when we need to be. The trick is to be aware of the reasons why and being willing to act on such knowledge. Powerful, isn't it?

Again, the public transit training class was a huge success and the first of many efforts to reach out to people wanting to learn more about public transit. Here is a link to the video put together by my friend Jim Manning showing the highlights of the day. Enjoy.