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If kindness to strangers is a measure of the attitude of a society, here are 5 incidents/stories that I fondly recall from the past 10 years in Canada – small incidents with big impacts, not all executed in the blissful country-side (where it can be expected) but rather in the supposedly “big bad” cities too.
1. You will not make it on time, so hop in
The 1st one is my own story played out in the 1st few months in the Greater Toronto Area. I was heading for a job interview to the suburbs (around Toronto). Not aware of the weak public transport links (rare taxis, poorly served bus routes) on the outskirts of Mississauga, I had planned to arrive at the local railway station and walk to what looked like (on a paper map) a quick short trip a couple of roads away from the station. As I strolled out of the station, it hit me that the roads that showed up on the maps were fenced off in reality. There was no way to get across them – rather, I had to take a detour of atleast 6-7 kms to get to my destination. By the time this occurred to me, it was 45 mins from appointment time and there was no taxi in sight.
I made some calculated guesses and decided to cut through a residential community. As I hurried through the area, I stopped to re-check my bearings and chanced upon a middle aged lady in her driveway. She came over and pointed out the route to my destination and asked me the reason for my haste.
Two minutes after I thanked her for the directions and took off on a quick march in my suit and tie, I heard a car approach me. Turning around, I saw the lady had got in to the car and driven over. She asked me to hop on with the words “You will never get there on time so you better get in.”
I jumped in and got to my interview in good time. I walked in relaxed and was able to “crack” the interview and secure the job offer. All this was made possible by a stranger who was kind enough to realize that I had grossly underestimated my travel distance and stepped in to help. The lady didn’t want an acknowledgement for her generosity though she identified herself as “Ms Szabo”. I sent a “Thank you” card into the ether at a vague “made up” address but moreover still remain in eternal debt for this act of extreme kindness.
2. There is always space in here - so what if it’s a tiny car
The next one is a fascinating story from Halifax on the eastern seaboard of Canada. Sonika, my wife and a colleague of hers were travelling to the airport when their taxi developed engine trouble a few kms away from the airport on a quite strip of the highway. In freezing cold, Sonika and her colleague stepped out as they planned the next move – call a cab from the city or airport …
They had hardly got through a couple of minutes of deliberations when they saw a small old hatchback (the size of a Mini) pull to the side. A couple was sitting infront and their whole home was on the move with lots of bags, packs etc in the tiny car. They insisted on driving Sonika and hear colleague to the airport though they were not headed in that direction.
Sonika and her colleague thanked them but initially declined given that the car was tiny, packed and moreover not heading in the direction of the airport. But the couple insisted and were soon re-arranging the artefacts in the car. Along with the packs from the back seat, there emerged a baby in a bucket seat and a massive dog (Labrador).
Within a couple of minutes, Sonika’s 6 foot 3 inches tall colleague was seated in front alongside the gentleman driving the car. His wife, Sonika and the little baby were fitted in the back seat and all the belongings along with the giant dog squeezed in the room behind the back seat.
Of course, they got to the airport in a few minutes. The couple refused to take any money or offer their name for a card/thank you gesture and when Sonika and her colleague insisted on doing something, the couple asked them to “pass the favour along to some other stranger.”
“Wow!” is all I could say on this amazing gesture of the couple with the tiny car but huge hearts.
3. Did you leave something behind?
We were living in the busy part of downtown Toronto. I paused at a newspaper vending box, took out my wallet, put the right amount in and pulled out the paper of the day. Its 6 PM on a busy work day and with paper in hand I hop across in 5 minutes to my condominium unit.
I would have sat for 15 minutes when the phone rang and a police officer was on the line asking me questions to identify myself and check if I had dropped something. I looked around and had no clue. And so the officer asked me if my wallet was missing. My heart went “Thump!” I checked my coat and trouser pockets and indeed oblivious to me, I had left the wallet behind – on the newspaper vending box as the officer informed me.
Again, as in the previous 2 stories, the Good Samaritan wanted to remain anonymous – apparently she had seen me leave the wallet behind (from very far), tried to catch up but could not, quickly picked it up from the newspaper vending box, handed the wallet (untouched) to the nearby police station and didn’t want to be thanked for.
All this honesty and goodness in the heart of a bustling mega-city of 4 million plus.
4. Welcome to Canada and “Be warm” in this Canadian police jacket
This one should be pleasant reading for those who dread crossing borders and facing customs/immigration officials. While every return to Canada for me (by air or road) has been most welcoming and a pleasant experience (more in another blog post), this story by a friend of buddy of mine takes the cake for the welcoming attitude of the Canadian Immigration officials (if you are not doing anything wrong).
My friend landed in Western Canada in Calgary from Dubai as an immigrant checking into the country for the 1st time. At most times, my friend tends to be in a general state of hyper-excitement and so in his usual vein, he was comfortably suited in shorts and tee-shirt on the flight in though it was late November.
Having landed at the airport with very light luggage, my friend quickly made his way to immigration, submitted his papers to enter the country for permanent residency. A few minutes later, he was admitted into the country. As he crossed in, the immigration officer took a good look at him and ushered him into a room. “Sir, you better go in there”.
A bit taken aback, my friend entered the windowless room to see a police officer behind a desk. Nervousness turned into puzzlement as the officer asked him “Do you know that you are in Calgary and the weather is freezing out there. Where is your jacket, Sir.” When my buddy clarified that he had landed ahead of his family and was carrying only his summer clothes as he was there for a week, the officer pulled out a nice warm Canadian police jacket and asked him to walk along. My friend was loaned the jacket till he was inside a warm cab and only once he was comfortably seated did the police offer take back the jacket, and waved to him “Welcome to Canada !”
I have read about and chatted with people on their encounters with immigration and police officials all over the world but rarely heard a story anywhere close to this one. Have you?
5. Even a good municipal worker story
For variety, I am picking the last story – a simple one but from a very unexpected quarter – an act of kindness “beyond duty” by a municipal (or City) worker.
We were returning home to Richmond Hill (Ontario, Canada) after a vacation of 2-3 weeks in peak winter. When we got home, our driveway was packed with ice (not snow) several feet high and our cars were stuck in the garage. I started chipping at it with my ice removing machine, shovel and axe but the progress was extremely slow. It was very clear that I would have to keep going for a couple of days before I could get through the pile-up. But we could not see a quick solution.
Then, all of a sudden, we spied a little construction machine with a loader making its way towards us. A City (or municipal) worker had seen our predicament in the quiet corner of our neighbourhood and was hurrying over to help us. Within minutes, he had cleared the snow off our driveway, refused to accept anything more than our heart-felt thanks and was back to his work.
Typically, I expect a City worker (in any other country) to be bummed with life, reluctant to even do his job, let alone do an unpaid for, beyond duty work. But, hey this was Canada and you never know where the next act of kindness may come from.
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