whatever it takes

Was purchasing a train ticket from the automated dispenser in the station when an elderly woman came up to me. She was probably Russian, maybe fifty years old or so, about five feet tall and rather stout, swaying from side to side as she hobbled along with the help of a cane, her motions resembling that of a child's doll with a huge rounded base where the legs ought to be. Her head was covered in a shawl and she was bundled in several layers of thin clothing in this bitter weather whilst most everyone else, oblivious to her presence, were decked out in much warmer apparel.

She jingled the two coins in her plastic cup only once as she sobbed for several seconds in her foreign tongue, relaying the story of her hardships, trying to justify to this stranger that any contribution on my part was well deserved. But all that was not necessary. Her tone mirrored the sense of desperation so painfully evident in her eyes of green that I had to look away. I was already searching for loose change.

I managed to fish out a two euro coin and dropped it in her cup and the gesture appeared to have astounded her - her gratitude was so clear and distinct that I felt ashamed for not offering more. And then she mumbled a few words of prayer whilst gesturing the sign of the holy cross before reaching for my ungloved right hand and planting a soft kiss on it. This time the astonishment was mine.

So despite whatever it is we're going through, we would do well to remember that in the grand scheme of things, for the most part, we got it good. I'm a lucky man and I love how this song reminds me of that; and I love how everyday life reminds me of that.