Thursday, May 24, 2007

Heaven with Alik

Another train ride to Manhattan wearing the interview suit and heels. Into my bag, next to resumes, I have placed a little digital camera because New York is always surprising. But it's on the Greenwich platform that I receive grace.

A grandmother and granddaughter are sitting together on the platform, not on a bench, but down on the cement platform itself, under the big sign that says "Greenwich." The little girl is sitting between her grandmother's legs, wearing her large sunglasses, and holding an enormous book that spans both of their laps.

And they are reading together and tooting - I mean, pulling their hands like a train engineer pulls a train horn and saying "Toot! Toot! Toot!"

The platform is beginning to collect commuters, and these two travellers are having an exceptional time waiting for the train and tooting. I can't resist them.

I walk over, apologize for interrupting and ask the grandmother if I can take a picture and email her a copy. They are so deep in play that it takes a minute for them to notice me, but she smiles broadly and agrees, and her granddaughter leans back into her breast, lowers the glasses on her nose and tips her head for the camera.

For her 4th birthday, I learn in an email the next day, Alik has chosen a train trip from Larchmont to Greenwich, and lunch with her grandmother, Mary. They would have also gone to the Bruce Museum but it was closed, so they went to Diane's Bookstore, "and had a grand time."

I also learn that two months earlier Mary lost her husband of 43 years. They were both college professors in Duluth, MN. And while Mary is thanking me for being a "grandmother's good fairy" for taking their picture and sending her a copy, I am grateful to them for the unabandoned joy they shared with each other in the presence of strangers. She tells me she will tell the story for many years to come.

My friend Gerry sent me the end of the hell/heaven story.

The warrior, overcome with anger and hate at the monk, drew his sword and prepared to cut his head off right there and then. As the sword swung, the monk said "That is hell."

The warrior hearing this, stopped and dropped the sword at once. Overwhelmed, he began to cry tears of gratitude for his newly melted heart. The monk then said "and that... is heaven."

And thanks to Mary and Alik, I have gone to my interview with a grateful, wide open heart. A little piece of heaven.

1 comment:

Susan Palwick said...

This is beautiful! Thank you so much for posting it! May I include it in my "Carnival of Hope" blog carnival on June 8?