A Pocket Full of Sunshine

There are days when I could do with not watching the news.  Suicide bombers, school shootings, lying, cheating - all of it can wear you down.  A guilty pleasure of mine is watching the Real Housewives of...well.. of anywhere.  But I have noticed that many times the reality of "reality TV" and the realness of the daily news paired with the newly shorten day can leave a person feeling pretty down and out.  Lately that has been happening to me - as the darkness of the days gets longer and longer and the sunshine filled hours of biking the Dubuque countryside turn only into memories, you forget what it warmth feels like.  But, today I, well today I felt like a fresh pot of coffee steaming with warmth.

I left early this morning to head to Cedar Falls for a meeting.  As the sun started to crest over the valley I live in, I rolled my car onto the road with only a quarter tank of gas.  While I was on Hwy 20,  I pulled off and into Epworth to fill up my tank.  Before this summer, I had no idea what or where this city was.  But now after many rides starting, ending, and rolling through this community, I was more than happy to spend some cash on some much needed gas.

As I finished filling my tank and made a quick walk to the front door of the gas station, I saw a man who had just finished filling his truck walk towards the same door.  As we neared the doors he did something very unexpected - he opened it for me.  And not just a open-walk-through-and reach-back kind of hold, but grab the door and stepped to the side into the 20 mph fall wind and let me walk in first.  It took me a moment to understand what was happening.  Now I have some guy friends who do this for me, but a male stranger?  This was a first.  As I strolled inside and felt the warmth of the store, I took a moment to give him a genuine thank you.  Huh.  Maybe there are some nice people out there.

Then as I continued down the road and into Cedar Falls, I saw another act of random kindness.  Off of the University exit a car had stalled and two people where out pushing it to the dealership was only a block away.  As I came down the exit ramp, a man jumped out of the passenger side of his Subaru in his fresh pressed suit and starting pushing the car from the back as his wife turned on her hazard lights and followed behind slowly.  Again, this was a new sight for me.

Getting help riding across the bridge... or what was left of it

The sights and actions I witnessed today truly reminded me that there is some good out there.  That many times they are small random acts of kindness that may go unnoticed, but other times are seen and felt by others.  At times this summer these same random acts would occur on my rides - from sharing a water bottle or energy gel to helping haul your bike over a bridge that was missing the front and back part of it.  Many of these acts will not be news stories that you see at 5 o'clock or watch on reality TV, but in the reality of everyday life - they happen.  When you least expect it and forgot to watch for - they happen.  So to all of you who went out of your way to help someone else today - thank you.  I can guarantee you made their day a better one.  And with the wind turning colder and the leaves finally falling as winter starts to approach, everyone could use a little sunshine and warmth in their day.