“A Pedestrian Moment of Clarity”
Originally Published the Week of Nov. 23, 2012 in Western Outdoor Publications
It had been a bad day. I was grumpy. Not much of the day had gone right. You know how it goes when you’re out-of-synch with the world. A disturbance in the force.
It started poorly with no hot water in the shower.
My cell phone battery died.
I had erased something accidentally on my computer.
Friends canceled a lunch at the last minute and I had forgotten to do something my wife asked me to take care of.
The airlines had lost a client’s fishing gear and suitcase. Someone else had lost their passport.
I was now late for meeting and it was my fault. And just realized I had forgotten my notes.
On top of it, I just spilled half-a-cup of coffee on the floor when I swerved to avoid some crater-sized potholes. The iterminable stop signs that tortured me block-after-block in the hot sun that blazed through my windshield sure wasn’t doing much for my disposition either.
I was pretty much spitting, snarling and growling at everything in Spanish and in English. Ever have one of those days when it feel like the cosmos are going to have some fun at your expense?
And it wasn’t even noon yet.
I was in a hurry. Cars ahead weren’t moving fast enough for me. Go! Go! Go! I’m late. Andale!
Someone ahead was trying to cross the busy street mid-block. Cars were zipping by the lone pedestrian. No one was gonna let him get across the street.
Serves him right. Use a crosswalk, amigo!
He sure wasn’t moving very fast. If he didn’t move faster, someone was surely gonna hit him.
C’mon…get going. I didn’t want to stop. I was going to pretend not to see him. No eye contact! Like the way you don’t look hitch-hikers in the eye when you don’t want to stop.
But, he came out from my right just fast enough that I had to stand on the breaks. Grrrrr… Small screech. Sigh. Dangit. I was about to let loose some choice Spanish phrases. “Cabron!” “Idiota!”
But I looked up at the same time he stopped right in front of my hood. And in the middle of my snarl he turned towards my car. We made eye contact.
He looked directly at me and smiled. He mouthed a grateful “Gracias” with a gentlemanly bow of his head.
He was old. Or looked old. Grey stubble framed his dark and weathered cheeks and chin. In Mexico, it can be hard to tell. A hard life ages people pre-maturely down here.
He couldn’t move fast because he was hobbled. Badly. I hadn’t seen before that he had a makeshift crutch under one arm. The kind that looked like it had been bound together with dirty duct tape.
His denim jeans were stained and wrinkled. I wasn’t sure if his shirt was cream-colored or simply as dirty as his his pants.
His eyes were tired, but clear. And in a simple word they spoke to me. Volumes.
I had to smile and wave back. How could I not? And I was just about to…well, it’s hard to rip a guy a new one who smiles and bows to you and politely says, “Gracias.”
I waited and watched him struggle to the other side. Cars backed up behind me. Let ‘em wait.
It was an effort to get up the opposite curb. Sensing I was still there, he turned and waved an “I’m OK” wave. Another smile. I waved back.
Some impatient driver behind me honked his horn to get going.
Every now and then, life throws a little high beam into the darker recesses of your spirit. Mine came in the form of a few nano-seconds of human contact on a bustling Mexican street.
This old caballero with the bum leg was grateful for an unintended act of kindness. It was un-deserved. Benevolence nothing. Thanks for nothing. I was gonna blow by the poor guy as he struggled to cross the street.
I’m so good at turning “inconveniences” into emergencies A cold shower. A dead cell phone. Too many potholes and stopsigns.
Seriously? C’mon, man, I mentally kicked myself. Life really doesn’t have that many “emergencies.” At least, not my life anyway.
In Mexico, I’m just blessed to have a car. A cell phone that just needs a charge. A shower of any kind. And a computer that can re-create whatever it lost; meetings that need attending; and clients who look to me for assistance. I have friends and family. I had a cup of coffee to spill.
And it wasn’t even noon yet!
I should be more thankful. I should be more grateful. Even for “inconveniences”. Life’s actually pretty good. Slow down. Take a breath. Every now and then, life makes you stop whether you intended to or not!
Happy Thanksgiving from Mexico. “Feliz Dia de Gracias!”
That’s our story…
Jonathan and Jill
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife, Jill, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter-international.com. They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com or drop by the restaurant to say hi!
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Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
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“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”
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