Lelalois whipped her Ford Expedition through the parking lot, trying to get us back on the main road in this thick LA traffic after we'd missed a turn. "I think you make a right here," I instructed as I looked down at the map on my phone.
She didn't budge. I looked up to see why. "We're not going anywhere," she said.
There he was, a slight Asian man. He wore a light jacket, despite the California heat. In his left hand he carried a green cloth tote, a cane in his right. He wasn't walking, exactly, as that implies movement much quicker than what he was doing. He inched his way across the sidewalk, heading towards the waiting city bus. Lelalois and I had been rushing, missing turns, having to loop around, trying to reach our next destination. But now, there was nowhere to go. As he shuffled in front of us, we both stared.
"This is out of a movie," Lelalois chuckled. I agreed. "He must have left this morning to get here," I joked.
But then something happened to us both. As he creeped across the canvas of the windshield, we shifted our perspective. We became humbled by his grit. We were awed as we imagined the perseverance it must take when your body doesn't work the way you want it to anymore. But, still, this determined man kept going. One step at a time, regardless of how quickly he was going to get there. He just kept shuffling, one foot in front of the other. He became lovely to us, a reminder of fortitude and strength.
As I watch the news footage from today's latest awfulness coming from our White House, I am reminded of the power of one step at a time. I am thinking of the man from today and the lessons I can learn from him. We have to just keep doing the next right thing, shuffling ahead, even if we don't know how long it will take us to get there.
One step at a time...reminds me of Salve Dut's uncle's advice in A LONG WALK TO WATER. I love this: "As he creeped across the canvas of the windshield, we shifted our perspective." And then the powerful follow-up: "He became lovely to us, a reminder of fortitude and strength." Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou are blogging!! Is this your first year? You will love it. I love this piece - you paint the picture of perseverance and grit so well. Your appreciation for this amazing man comes through so clearly. My blog is shredsofmymind if you are at all interested in stopping by. Have fun and so great to 'see' you here! Lisa Hilliker
ReplyDeleteLisa!!! This is so cool to keep running into you in our work/writing worlds!!! Yes! This is my first time blogging. Off to check out yours now... are you doing the slice challenge too?
DeleteI also love the line: "He became lovely to us" as it captures your response perfectly.
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful post. I love to read your writing!
ReplyDeleteLove the your reflections about this gentleman!! These words, especially: "He became lovely to us, a reminder of fortitude and strength." Great perspective.
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