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A Special Moment in My Life
Now I looked at her face and could see that she was timid and a bit shy. I smiled broadly to help her relax. It was what I had long ago learned to do, being a black man, especially when I come in contact with elderly white women. I noticed that she had not driven up and was puzzled. Still I smiled, said hello and asked "What can we do for you?". She began to look even more discouraged and sheepishly reached into her pocket and handed me a business card. I was a bit confused since I know, sweeping the parking lot in dirty coveralls, I couldn’t possibly look like the owner of the business. She said nothing and actually looked even sadder and then simply, dejectedly, looked down at her feet. I looked at the "business card".
On one side there were strange symbols and then I read the other side. "Hello. I am deaf". "I am selling this card". "Please pay whatever you think it is worth". I turned the card back over and saw that the symbols were the alphabet and it’s equivalent in sign language. Immediately I understood her sad demeanor. This was a blue collar city which had seen better days. I’m sure that charity in this area was tough sledding. Without thinking, I reached in my pocket and grabbed all of the quarters I could. I took her hand and, while only dropping a few quarters on the ground, filled both of her tiny, frail hands with my video game money. "She probably could use this more than I" I thought. I couldn’t see her face because she was staring at her hands. Slowly she began to look up at me. I’ll remember this for as long as I live. Her face was totally different. I can only describe the expression as unfettered joy. I just gave this woman some of my video game money and she’s looking at me as if I had just handed her the Holy Grail.
I felt a little silly and was about to laugh when I saw tears begin to run down those poorly made up cheeks. She stuffed the money in her pockets and I helped her pick up the ones we dropped. She quickly stood up and just as I was going to turn away she reached out and hugged me. I hugged her back and she kissed me on the cheek. I could feel the wetness of her tears on my right cheek. She quickly backed up a step then placed her hand over mouth and moved it forward a bit. I remembered the back of the card and made the same motion. Thank you. The woman hurried away. I was stunned for a moment. It took a minute to understand what had actually happened. Smiling even broader now, I went back inside. "What did she want?" my boss asked. I retold the story to him and he said "She probably wasn’t even deaf". They laughed a little at my gullibility but nothing anyone could say could bring me down. The hug and kiss of a total stranger stay with me, even today, 20 years later. I wish I could see her again. I’d like to thank her again for what she gave me.
