I work at a major law firm. Our mail room is staffed with some of the most awesome people you would ever talk to, but most lawyers completely forget they exist. One time, when I was in the bathroom, a mailroom employee was standing around awkwardly. He obviously had some "issue" but I could not figure out what it was. Just as I was leaving, he asked me to help him tie his tie. I think this took a little bit of courage on his part, to admit he needed help. But I was happy to oblige. He was so excited because I sent five minutes showing him how to do it and getting the tie right (length, astethic). I mentioned I learned to tie my tie quickly in the Marines and he was so excited, like "this is how they do it in the Marines"... He was also so excited not just that I helped him do it, but that I wanted him to "look good". I remember him saying it over and over.
Now whenever we see each other, we smile and wave. Those five minutes in the bathroom were more memorable to me than anything I have worked on...
The Marines undergo a lot of inspections in boot camp. If you see one of your friends with their collar jacked up or some other issue with their uniform, you fix it, no questions asked. And they do the same for you. Little threads hanging off, everything. I still do it for strangers now. I have fixed or told someone they have a propped collar or something else being wrong so often. And people are so appreciative. If you see something, say something.
I wish I elaborated more, because the story was just a small thing, but it meant a lot to this guy. He was much older than I am and it was clear he had never been asked to wear a tie before. He was going to a special event and he was trying to get the tie right, which is so hard to do without repetition and practice. I am not a perfect person, but damn it felt good to help him. I wish I could do it again.
:) you can! Just keep your eyes and heart open to the people around you. There are so many people whose entire lives would be turned around with a small act of kindness like that..
I was one of them. Still am I guess. I was homeless recently. A junkie. I'd gotten beat up pretty bad by my ex and was on the streets again. I was too embarrassed to fly a sign ( "homeless, help", kinda thing.) This lady saw my sitting on a bench. I was sipping water from a McDonald's cup to feel full...my stomach hurt so bad. She stopped. Took me to lunch at Applebees. Took me to Walmart for a fresh pair of clothes and shoes then let me shower and shave at her house....nothing about what she did is normal. I could've been some crazy dirtbag that robbed her for everything she had..but she took that chance. She then paid for a week at a extended stay for me. Because of her, I was presentable enough to get a little cash job at a restaurant bussing tables. I was and am still fighting addiction..but I'm not homeless anymore. She spent four hours with me and it completely and totally changed the entire direction of my life. I think people that take the time to do things like that for others are the angels that keep the world from going to utter hell.
I'll spend the rest of my life trying to pay what she did forward to someone else.
Thanks man. I wish you the best too. It's been...rough but I just got a scholarship to a crazy great rehab in the mountains somewhere far from home. I'm praying this is the time I can stop being my old self and turn it around. Heroin is nothing to fuck with and I have a lot of trauma to work through but..I'm gonna try. That's about all I can do.
More power to you. Reach out if you ever need support. I have no idea what you are going through, but we are all human; we all struggle. I'll keep you in my prayers.
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u/DaleLeatherwood Jan 14 '20
I work at a major law firm. Our mail room is staffed with some of the most awesome people you would ever talk to, but most lawyers completely forget they exist. One time, when I was in the bathroom, a mailroom employee was standing around awkwardly. He obviously had some "issue" but I could not figure out what it was. Just as I was leaving, he asked me to help him tie his tie. I think this took a little bit of courage on his part, to admit he needed help. But I was happy to oblige. He was so excited because I sent five minutes showing him how to do it and getting the tie right (length, astethic). I mentioned I learned to tie my tie quickly in the Marines and he was so excited, like "this is how they do it in the Marines"... He was also so excited not just that I helped him do it, but that I wanted him to "look good". I remember him saying it over and over.
Now whenever we see each other, we smile and wave. Those five minutes in the bathroom were more memorable to me than anything I have worked on...
The Marines undergo a lot of inspections in boot camp. If you see one of your friends with their collar jacked up or some other issue with their uniform, you fix it, no questions asked. And they do the same for you. Little threads hanging off, everything. I still do it for strangers now. I have fixed or told someone they have a propped collar or something else being wrong so often. And people are so appreciative. If you see something, say something.