The Kindness of Friends & Strangers

PM's Perspective -- The Abundance of Kindness

We are living in an abundant universe that never ceases to amaze me.  After three days at a mooring in Stonington, CT at Dobson's Boatyard we headed west through Long Island Sound toward Pequonnock Yacht Club in West Haven, a 50 nm day.  Our departure was no nonsense.  Up at 6:00 AM; coffee, fresh fruit and toast on the fly bridge by 6:10 AM; kitchen clean-up and morning chores at 6:30 AM; engine check by 6:45 AM; and departure just before 7:00 AM.  The sun was up and shining through the few clouds in the sky; the water was a welcomed flat calm.

I decided to seize the moment and take Velomer's helm.  Leaving and arriving at a dock or mooring is something I have been very hesitant to do, but weather and sea conditions could not have been more ideal.  Besides, Bob needed the practice of releasing a mooring to fully appreciate the process which can be slow.  We conferred on the fly bridge about the best way to remove the mooring lines from Velomer's bow cleats.  Bob was to remove the port side line first and fling it as far to the starboard and away from the boat, then the starboard side line.  I would use the bow thruster (now repaired, again!) to the port and head out meandering among the boats in the mooring field.  Everything went textbook smoothly.

Once out in the main channel we got on our charted course and spent a relatively uneventful seven hours punctuated by the occasional wind gust and unseen currents that pushed us slightly off course.  We timed our trip to take maximum advantage of the tide and benefited from as much as a two knot lift.  When we arrived at the Pequonnock fuel dock we were met by a very competent dock hand who tied us up.  As we signed in, I asked where the nearest grocery store was as we needed some provisioning.

A man on shore was listening to our conversation and said, "There really isn't any grocery store around here."  Then he asked, "What do you need?"  I replied, "Basically fruits and vegetables."  "What exactly?"  I said, "Bananas, apples, oranges, celery."  He walked away, got on a bike and rode off.  I didn't think any more of it until about an hour later when the dock hand gave me a grocery bag full of fruit and vegetables.  The dock hand had no idea who that man was.  What an incredible act of kindness!  I am in awe of and very touched by his kindness.  The really wonderful result of his action is that it encourages me to pass it forward in whatever way I can.

This incident jogged my memory in terms of all the other acts of kindness from both friends and strangers that have come into our lives.  A spontaneous hug from a grandchild, a bouquet of flowers, a gift of fresh food from the garden, picking up the tab at a restaurant, the gift of someone's company, offers of places to stay when in town, and the invitation to join in a memorial service feast.  We are truly blessed!