Kindness, like a boomerang, always returns.
~ Author Unknown
I stopped at a gas station yesterday to get a fountain Pepsi (I’m a fountain Pepsi addict and making no attempt at recovery) on my way to chorus rehearsal. The lady filling her drink in front of me dropped the lid she was trying to put onto her cup and before I could even think about it, I bent over and picked it up for her. She thanked me as I tossed it into the trash. Just a small act that hopefully helped another thirsty person.
Since today’s kind act was nothing exceptionally monumental, I wanted to tell you about a kind act I don’t even really remember doing that made a difference to someone else over 20 years ago.
A few months ago, my mom called to tell me she ran into the dad of one of my high school friends at her local grocery store and about the conversation she had with him. She thought she recognized the man and said that he gave her a look of recognition as well, so she decided to speak to him.
“Aren’t you Mr. M?” she asked him.
“Yes I am,” he replied.
“I thought so. Our kids were in choir together. I’m Angie’s mom.”
“I know,” he said. “I remember Angie quite well. In fact, I will never forget what she did for my son, B.”
He went on to explain,
“Angie encouraged B to try out for show choir as a sophomore after being in the accompaniment band his freshman year. His next 3 years in show choir did so much to boost his confidence and bring him out of his shell, and it was because of the encouragement your daughter gave him as an upperclassman to audition in the first place. I have often thought over the years that B would not have become the confident, outgoing and successful man he is today had it not been for Angie’s friendship and encouragement to go after what he wanted. I really am so grateful for that.”
My mom said she was a little stunned, but she thanked him whole-heartedly for telling her that story and went on about her shopping.
Me and B doing the show choir "thang". Don't laugh - this was COOL in 1987!
I remember B very well. He was a freshman when I was a junior and he played trumpet in the band that backed up my high school show choir. At first glance, he was sort of nerdy looking – a red-haired, freckle-faced, short, skinny kid with braces. Now any one of these traits at age 14 can be a social obstacle, but when you combine all of this with the fact that he was a “band geek”, he didn’t stand a social chance. He was in the marching band and had auditioned for the show choir band as well. I don’t honestly remember how we got to know each other, but with roughly 20 hours a week of rehearsals outside of school hours, I’m sure we had plenty of opportunity to chat and goof around. B was a smart guy with a great sense of humor – I remember him being quite the smart-eleck, which made me like him even more. He lived very close to me and I often drove him to and from practice because he couldn’t drive yet. I don’t particularly remember encouraging him to audition for show choir, but if he expressed even the slightest bit of interest in it, I’m sure I did since we were always trying to get more guys to be in the group. And I would have never let my friend just ‘settle’ for the backup band if he really wanted to be in the spotlight.
I haven’t talked to B for over 20 years. I have no idea where he lives, what he does, who he married, or anything about his life beyond high school. Our lives went in separate directions, like so often happens with friends you make in high school, college, and various jobs when the experience you have in common comes to an end. There is no way I could have known what an impact show choir would have on B’s life and I’m sure that “changing his life” was never my intention. But you never know when a seemingly small extension of friendship, kindness, generosity, understanding, sympathy or gratitude will do just that – change a life. Mr. M thinks I changed B’s life and, by telling the story, he changed mine in return. I will forever be grateful to Mr. M for returning the favor.
