The Banana Man

There are three times I can remember that other people have saved my life with their simple kindness.

I must have been excused from class early for an appointment in high school because I remember walking down the empty hallway by myself. I don't know what high school was like for you, dear reader, but the word kindness could not often (ever?) be used to describe it for me. The lone person I passed in the hallway was an upperclassmen; I think his name was Travis Hanson. I expected the typical "pretend the other person is invisible" or the "avoid eye contact at the pivotally awkward moment," but as he walked past me he looked me in the eye and smiled at me! It wasn't a "hey, you're kinda cute" smile, or a "oh my gosh you are a weirdo" smile, it was a kind, human being smile. I was so caught off guard by that, and obviously it made an impact on me in a sea of high school memories I can thankfully not recall...

I think I came as close as I've ever come to nervous breakdown this day in Amsterdam. I don't even remember all the circumstances, but I had gotten into a strange conflict with someone, I had more responsibilities than I could keep track of, and I was on the verge of heavy tears. I was spending the weekend away, thank God, and just barely made it to the train platform to catch the right train. It was rush hour and the train was packed with commuters riding home. I quickly sat in the first seat I could find, but there was no place for my small suitcase above! Frazzled, I held the suitcase upright in my lap before trying to wedge it in between me and the woman sitting across from me. I smiled apologetically at her, but my face was red and I could feel my stomach turning and the tears pushing. Everyone around me was staring at me and my suddenly mammoth brown suitcase. As the train pulled away, a middle aged, middle figured man with glasses- one of the on-lookers- stepped over and touched my shoulder and pointed to a place under the seats where I could stick my bag. He said nothing- maybe he knew I was not Dutch?- but he had saved my life. I said quietly, "thank you" and took a deeper breath as I pushed my brown bag underneath and swallowed my tears for a little while longer.

Last week was a ringer of a week. I was tired and had felt sick all week from whatever feeling it is you get when it seems like hope has been lost (hopelessness, i suppose?). I was dejectedly wandering the grocery store aisles, trying to keep concentration enough to remember what to put in my basket, when my friend called. We would have breakfast together, we decided, and I should bring bananas for pancakes. Now, did we want mushy bananas or regular ones? We decided a little of both. As I talked, I walked into the produce area and over to the bananas where an older man was restocking. We said goodbye, and I moved up closer. "Can I sneak in and grab some of these out of your way?" I asked, and he turned to me and said, "Of course!" His eyes were blue and kind. "Is it taboo to pick a few ripe ones off of a bunch?" I asked, and he said no, to take whatever I wanted. Then we chatted some about ripe bananas and eating things quickly before they turn, maybe we talked about the weather. It wasn't even anything he said, but he saved me with his kind smile and conversation.