Sunday, July 14, 2019

4. Caring about the same things

Number 4 may be a cheat in my challenge to myself to do something that gets me out of my passive normal behavior.  Prior to this appropriated project,  I  may have been compelled to express my admiration even if I weren't trying to do 100 days of getting beyond my limitations. Number 4 (July 13; Lucky 13)! was the best post office experience ever.

Entering the Lenox Hill post office with my package, I saw a woman who looked like Gloria Steinem. As she placed her envelopes on a table, I furtively took a photo to make sure the woman wasn't a lookalike.* After I mailed my package, I went to the same table so I could put my bag down to put away my credit card. OK, I went to the same table to make sure the person was indeed Ms. Steinem. The return address in a firm hand confirmed that she was the real deal. So, as I finished putting away my stuff, I said, "Excuse me, I must tell you how much I admire your work." Gloria Steinem seemed to bow and said, "That means we can about the same things." "We do," I replied, to which she responded, "It's a gift."

I was too flustered to clarify whether the caring or the compliment was a gift. Certainly, Ms. Steinem's gracious (and perhaps practiced?) reply was a gift to me.**



*I won't "publish" the image.

**For someone slouching toward a seventh decade, a vital, active, intelligent and inspiring 85-year-old a prod to stop whining and start caring/acting.

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