Helping a stranger move a heavy piece of furniture is such a kind thing to do.Alamy
The couch was heavy when we tried to lift it. We persevered,managed a block and a half by ourselves,taking frequent breaks,before a man in his 60s stopped to help us. He put his bag of leafy groceries down on the seat and carried the front end of the couch. In this way,we progressed a further block before we thanked the man,and he continued on his way.
We rested on the couch on a nature strip under a shady tree before setting off again,carrying the couch for 20 seconds,then resting for 20. In this way,we covered another half block.
A man walking past with his mother-in-law asked if we needed assistance and readily agreed to help us to the end of the block. His wife,informed by her mother of the encounter,drove up to take the cushioned seats of the couch in her car,to lighten our load.
The man helped us carry the couch all the way home.
What is it in another human being that a person should see two strangers struggling and step in to help,and so sacrifice his plans for the morning? By the time we got to our place,it was much later,and the three of us were exhausted and perspiring.
Spend any time on social media and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that people are cynical,preset to hostility and incapable of identifying common ground.
In the real world,it’s different. People are generally kind,and this man’s kindness in particular went above and beyond what could be expected from a stranger.
I doubt that this man gave his actions a second thought after we retrieved the cushions from his wife’s car and he headed off to join his family. I hope he knows that,thanks to his intervention,an almost-impossible feat was made possible.
Furthermore,I hope he might see this piece and know how his kind,spur-of-the-moment assistance has stayed with us since that day as a reminder that people are basically decent and that,despite the negativity we often read about,the world is a pretty wonderful place.
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