Earthquakes, Hurricanes and ERs

Living on the east coast, you normally don’t worry too much about earthquakes. That’s more of a California concern. But this week, imagine our surprise when, at the conclusion of one our meetings at work, the whole building began to shake. We were shocked and not so well trained in identifying the cause of the commotion. Nonetheless, when the fire alarms sounded before the shaking had even fully subsided, we joined the hundreds of others rushing from our office building and into the streets, per our evacuation plan.

As if the earthquake wasn’t enough, I decided to faint while waiting to re-enter the building. Fortunately, all the cell phone circuits were jammed and no one was able to get off a successful 911 call. In addition, my coworkers were fantastic at convincing people I was ok.

I’m sure all the Californians were laughing at us east-coasters…

Of course, in watching the news that evening, I was surprised to learn that another natural disaster was headed our way. This one looked to be more concerning and dangerous and had the ominous name of Hurricane Irene.

Again, Washingtonians pushed the panic button and began to prepare for the worst. Fortunately for me, I already had water and flashlights and batteries and such, so no excursions to the store with hour-long lines were needed.

All week, we looked forward with dreadful anticipation to what Hurricane Irene would bring us.

But I must not have been taking her seriously enough. Because I decided to add one more adventure to my plate on the eve of her arrival. I fainted in a metro station and stopped breathing.

Oops.

This, of course, necessitated a special ride to the nearest emergency room via my personal limo service (aka local ambulance service). And a seven hour stay in the hospital.

To be honest, I was just glad to make it out of this week alive….
And fortunately, in our area, Hurricane Irene didn’t live up to the hype.

The Kindness of Strangers

It’s so interesting to me how very cynical I become in daily life. You listen to the news and 98 percent of it is focused on all the terrible things that happen in the world: crime, abuse, corruption, murder. But I have recently been very touched by the amazing kindness of strangers – to me, to my family, and to each other. Small acts of kindness go a long way, but are seldom recognized.

A few weeks ago, I was on my way to work. It was the typical commute. Except for the fact that all the seats on the subway car I entered were full. Given my propensity for fainting these days, it’s never a good idea for me to stand too long. And on this particular day, I was already feeling quite ill. I had a quick internal debate on whether I should wait for the next train but, as you may know, in the subway system, he who hesitates is lost. So it was a short debate.

I walked to the center of the car, hoping that someone would get off at the next stop and I would get a seat. To my surprise, a gentleman, perhaps noting the concern on my face, offered me his seat. Normally I wouldn’t take it, but as I said, I was already feeling ill and was concerned that I would pass out at any moment. So I thanked him sincerely and took the proffered seat.

What a small, yet amazing gesture of kindness – from someone who doesn’t know me, doesn’t know my story, and probably has no idea the incredible impact he had on me that day!