Some
lessons learned from bread and airplanes
Elizabeth
Holmes
The
Bread Lady is one of the most compassionate
people I have ever met, but I do not
know her name. I first met the old woman
sitting next to me with dismay, but that
view quickly changed.
The first hour
of the five-hour-long flight was incredibly
long and oddly silent, as I kept myself
hidden within my the safety of my headphones
and sketchpad, shyly turning from the
old woman’s hopeful smiles.
By the end of the first hour, the flight attendants came with lunch trays.
Upon receiving my own, I saw before me a red tray holding some horribly inedible
thing disguised as a lunch.
The elderly woman next to me, who had ordered no
food of her own, shot at me one of her beaming smiles and, with a finger to
her lips, brought forth a loaf of bread.
She continued then, without hesitation, to rip the loaf of soft French bread
in half, handing me the larger portion.
Quite inelegantly, I took the bread
from the white-haired lady, staring in surprise.
“
My daughter made this for me,” she whispered excitedly, happy to have
made contact.
“
Now, dear,” I remember her saying to me, “How old are you?”
For the remainder of the flight, the Bread Lady (as I had then dubbed her)
and I talked openly — of her daughters and grandchildren (the conversation
I had been dreading, yet found quite interesting), and also of my plans, post-college
goals and my family.
Eventually,
the plane landed. The Bread Lady and
I said our farewells without exchanging
names or contact information. To this
day, I still think of her and the kindness
she showed me.
Often we try to avoid contact with other people at all costs. It is not that
any of us mean to be rude or to hide from the world, but we, nevertheless,
do try.
Unconsciously we mostly stay concerned with ourselves. Sure, we all
people-watch sometimes, but it is rare to be concerned over other lives often.
If more people were like the Bread Lady, what a world this could be. If all
men openly connected with one another, imagine the potential brotherhood.
What
would the world be like if every person united with their common fellows?
The Bread Lady taught me an unforgettable message. From then on, I always tried
to talk to as many people as I can, in any place I can and find any connection
I can.
I do face rejection from time to time. However, the conversations I
have with strangers never fail to inspire and amaze me. Everyone has a story,
each awe-inspiring and spectacular.
The
people we meet each day are the rewards.
It’s a blessing to connect with
others by simply caring.
With a smile
and an open heart, the world is truly
in the hands of the individual.
When
I get up in the morning, I remind myself
to be like the Bread Lady at every moment
I can.
Elizabeth Holmes is a freshman linguistics major.
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