But first, a PARAPROSDOKIAN —
Behind every great man is a woman – rolling her eyes.
Unplanned Kindness
Several years ago, we visited Chile. We stayed in Santiago and Vina del Mar for a couple of weeks, then headed south. We wanted to go as far as possible and still have roads back to Santiago.
The flight was in a small plane – one seat on each side of the aisle, maybe
a sixteen passenger capacity. It delivered newspapers to every small town along the way, so it was up and down continually. Two young girls sat across from my wife and me. They were moving to Puerto Montt. Their father was already there and would meet them at the airport.
On final approach, the older girl, probably twelve, got sick. As the wheels touched down, she threw up. In the terminal, my wife took her to the restroom to help her clean up. The younger girl found her father. I went to rent a car.
Unplanned best describes our mode of travel. We fly into a city, rent a car, then look for a place to stay. No reservations. Though a bit risky, it always works out and quite often provides more interesting adventures than if we had planned things carefully.
I found Earlene talking with the father. I said there was only one car available and they wanted $250 per day. I was hesitant. The girls’ father said, “If you can wait until tomorrow, I can get you a much less expensive car. Where are you going?”
I said we had planned on going to Puerto Varas (about twenty miles away), but we could certainly stay here tonight.
“I’m going to Puerto Varas. I can take you.”
As we drove toward Puerto Varas, he asked, “Where do you have reservations?”
“We don’t have a reservation, but I’m sure we can find something when we get there,” I said.
“I can help you.”
Thirty minutes later, we were at a lovely lakeside B & B.
“Do you have plans for dinner,” he asked.
“No,” I said. “We’ll walk into the village and find a restaurant.”
“We’re going to Llanguihue for dinner. Why don’t you join us? I can pick you up in forty minutes.”
An hour later we’re in a beautiful tourist village on the shore of a crystal clear lake. He invited us to join his extended family for dinner. We didn’t want to intrude, so we found a different table. After dinner, we told him we were in no rush whatsoever but would wait outside near his car.
“Nonsense. There are very interesting shops along the shore. Wander through them. I’ll find you.”
We did find the shops and the surrounding area interesting. About thirty minutes later, he appeared behind us. As we drove back to our B&B, he gave us many interesting facts about Chile. We felt very fortunate to have joined this man and his daughters.
The next morning, during breakfast, the B&B owner entered and handed me a telephone. Who would be calling me in Chile? The caller wanted to bring a car over for us for our inspection. It a very nice car and only $80 USD per day. We took it.
The father of the two girls went out of his way to be very friendly to a couple of foreigners he did not know. He could not have been more helpful if he had been a life-long friend.
Indeed, there are so many nice, kind, friendly people in the world, if only we are open to see them.
James R. Callan, 2016
Why not leave a comment and tell us about an Unplanned Kindness that happened to you. It will make all of us feel better. Thanks.
This is a great story, Jim. I’ll think of unplanned kindnesses that might have happened to me. For now, I’m reminded of my son, Jeffrey (another part-time PV-er) and his meeting up with a guy on a train in Europe, on his way to Prague, where he would be teaching ESL after college graduation. The guy turned out to be a professor, about to travel to the U.S. for a long stay. He offered Jeff his Prague apartment, rent-free, just because he had a good feeling about my son and just felt like doing so. Jeff stayed there for over a year and remained in touch with his new professor friend.
I love your sense of adventure. Hubby and I love to travel together, but he gets very frustrated when something doesn’t go as planned. On this last trip, to a professional football game, he loosened up quite a bit. It was all due to finding his “tribe”. They were all dressed in the same colors (Bronco Blue and Orange), and he could strike up a conversation with any and all of them. Catching a streetcar, walking in the rain, all seemed easier with friendly companions.
It definitely helps with friends around. But, there are friendly people all over the world – if given a chance. They are often eager to help, to be friendly, if we are open to it . I’m glad your husband found out the fun of meeting strangers who become friends. (Do we have to watch for scammers? Absolutely. ) Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I love the way you travel. You leave yourself open to all kinds of adventures and, because of this, some of them include great kindnesses as you’ve discovered. I admire your embrace of life. Wish I were more like you and your wife.
Thank you, Lesley, for your very kind words. My wife and I do enjoy the unexpected challenges, and with those often come the unexpected kindness of others. We do truly believe most of the people are nice and happy to help you out. Of course, some people think we are crazy. And we are at times. But, life is fun. Enjoy it.
It’s true, those surprise acts of kindness make travel so much richer–makes me think of all the times we exchange cameras with other tourists who notice us trying to take a selfie or vice versa. Another kindness that springs to mind: when we were watching manatees swim under a dock, and an elderly man taught us how to get them to come to us like puppies by dribbling water from our water bottle on the surface. 🙂
Is that a special thing – when someone comes up and offers help or information without you even asking. Just to be nice. Really makes you feel good. Thanks for sharing.
That’s my favorite way to travel and how I planned my family’s three weeks in Europe some years back. The world is full of kind people.
Thanks. It’s always good to hear that I not the only one doing such. And you are absolutely right – the world is full of nice, kind people. The tiny fraction that are not seem to get all the press. Thanks for the comment, Gay.