Less than a year ago, I left my phone in the back seat of a Buenos Aires taxi.
After having spent a week at the spectacular Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, my flight arrived at the domestic airport, Aeroparque in Buenos Aires. I needed to spend the night in a hotel near Aeropuerto Ezeiza, the international port for an early flight back to the States the next morning. This requires about an hour’s worth of drive time between the two sprawling facilities.
When I checked into the hotel and realized what had happened, I beat myself up for about a half a minute, shrugged, and wrote the thing off. In a busy, chaotic city of thirteen million strangers, any effort to locate the phone and have it returned would be futile.
Therefore, I was shocked when the driver returned a half an hour later with a smile and outreached hand with my phone its palm. He spoke no English and I would give my Spanish a charitable grade of serviceable at best. No matter. I gave him a sheepish, awkward hug and $60 US for his trouble.
The same sort of thing has happened in Reykjavik (a lost and returned credit card) and during my most recent trip to Barbados, when my phone, again, was lost and recovered in the Miami airport. Aside from my sometimes-careless nature and absentmindedness, these examples illustrate the very best of human nature – and not from established friends, mind you, but total strangers.
I dedicate this image, from my recent trip to Barbados, to these selfless folks. Dozens of wrong turns on unmarked or sometimes unnamed roads, aimless backtracking, and just being flat out lost were everyday occurrences. My reliance on storekeepers – and others – who cheerfully offered directions and a cool drink cannot be overstated or exaggerated. This image, as well as the others, could not be possible without their kindness.
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12 Comments
Great post and image Richard. We often hear so much of the negative in the media, but when you get out into the world the generosity of complete strangers can be truely inspiring.
Such a heart warming story Richard! I love the image from Barbados. Great composition, conditions and capture. Great job!
Monte
The image is outstanding! The story is even better. Stories like yours reinforce my faith in humanity. I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago when my sprinkler head broke after a freeze and I found myself standing in 5″ of water in my yard at midnight. I called the local utilities and they came to shut off the water. The young man who came was very nice and he actually fixed the problem for me – even though they’re not supposed to help! There are lots of good people out there and their stories need to be shared more often.
Awesome story and stunning photo. Thanks for sharing and letting the rest of us know that yes, there are still good people left in this chaotic world.
Thanks for the reminder Richard. People are generally very helpful. Sometimes we just don’t allow them to be helpful. Your experience is encouraging. And by the way, the shot is really nice too. Composition is perfect!
Love reading about the goodness of people, it isn’t talked about enough these days, at least not the stories of wonderful people who are NOT in the lime light or who don’t expect a return, they just do it because they live the golden rule.So thank you for sharing it.
Your photo is calming, lovely.
Safe Travels Richard
Richard, the image is outstanding and I am so glad that we still have kind and wonderful people all over the world. Seems as if we only hear the bad things and not the good things. Thanks for sharing!
Joining the chorus…all of the above, double!!!
Welcome home
wow, that fantastic shot! Congratulations! Really beautiful.
I once left a suitcase in the back of a cab at the San Francisco Airport. I thought it was gone for good. The dispatcher called the cabbie who circled around the airport and brought it back to me. There are a lot more kind people in the world than the unkind we hear about in the media.
I really like that image from Barbados. You caught the incoming and outgoing waves just right.
This photo is spectacular. I love everything about it. Thank you so much for sharing this inspiring story.
Acts of kindness in this world still happen, but get brushed aside in all the bad news the media hits
us with. It’s so uplifting to read stories like this one!
Gratitude is expressed by an act of sharing. The act reveals an inner capacity and capability to reveal hidden splendor.