Yes, I Have Faith In You
“I'm okay, how are you?
Thanks for asking, thanks for asking.
I'm okay, how are you?
I hope you okay, too.”
-Radiohead, Palo Alto-
That’s right, I believe that mankind will be just fine. I thought
about it while walking home today. I often just think about random
things while walking home, perhaps go over a story or essay in my
head. And I got the idea for this. I realized that we are going to be
okay, and that the average person is decent at worst.
I stopped by the corner store to pick up a popsicle, as I do many
days. I paid, expecting to get a grunt or some monosyllabic response
when I said thank you and told her to have a nice day. Instead I
got, “Thank you, and you too dear.” The most surprising part was that
it sounded sincere. I’ve seen that lady many times, and I’m always
sure to say thank you and act pleasant. It seems that I finally
rubbed off on her. That made me happy to know that I may brighten
peoples mundane lives by just a little bit by just being friendly. I
can’t stand people who walk around like they have a personal grudge
against the world.
I work as a child labour worker, whoops, that slipped out. I meant to
say that I work at a movie theater….. same difference. Anyway, as you
can imagine I’ve met my fair share of rude people. But I try not to
let that taint my view of mankind. Some people, very few, are really
nice, and they will make a joke, or just ask how I’m doing, or any
little thing that brightens my mundane life by just a little bit.
That is what makes me think that we are going to be all right. It’s
those nice, friendly people that are going to save this race. I am
leading a charge to be friendly. To say hello to the elderly man that
you pass on the sidewalk, to smile and say thank you to that guy
selling popcorn, to pick up the quarter that the guy in the
wheelchair dropped. It’s those little things that make a big
difference.
Last May my grandmother died. There was a service at the chapel, and
then we proceeded to the cemetery. There was three limos, on for each
of the families of her children. As we made our way down the street,
this five car procession, some people stopped to show respect, which
I found nice. It was about the time that school was getting out, and
we passed many kids, who paid no heed to what was happening, but
really I can’t blame them. But as we passed this crossing guard, this
elderly man of about 80, standing on the side of the road, he stood
at attention and put his orange hat over his heart as a sign of
respect. In this screwed up world, with so much war and famine and
disease, an old man still found the time, and took the effort to show
respect. The funeral was a very sad ordeal, but seeing him made me
feel good. And I smiled, but not too much. It’s people like that that
will save us all.
“But what can I do oh great one?”, you ask, “ I’m only one man.”
Well, you can start tomorrow. Just that little bit of smiling or a
polite nod will make people feel better. I always try to be as friend
and polite as possible. Now I’m not saying that just being nice will
solve all our problems, but can’t hurt. It makes me feel good knowing
that I can make a difference. Okay, scratch that last line, it came
out a little too corny. But you get the picture. Thank you for your
time. (see, there’s an example)…
-empryean-
