MADE ME THINK

I’m delaying the school-shopping post till tomorrow, instead I’d like to share some stories I found on a page called makesmethink.com. It’s impossible to know which ones are true and not, but they still make you think…

Today, an 86 year old man completed my diving certification course in Key West, FL. He said he wants his certification so he can dive at the Great Barrier Reef when he visits Australia in 2 weeks. “That sounds like fun. Are you a world traveler?” I asked. He laughed. “I was when I was your age. Actually, I was cleaning out an old filing cabinet yesterday. In it I found a list I made when I was 22 titled, ‘10 Things I Will Do Before I Die.’ Diving at the Great Barrier Reef is #10 on the list, and it’s the only one I haven’t completed.” MMT

Today, I interviewed a woman who is terminally ill. "So," I tried to delicately ask, "What is it like to wake up every morning and know that you are dying?" "Well," she responded, "What is it like to wake up every morning and pretend that you are not?" MMT

Today, I was working in a coffee shop when 2 gay men walked in holding hands. As you might expect, heads started turning. Then a young girl at the table next to me asked her mom why 2 men were holding hands. Her mom replied, "Because they love each other." MMT

Today I was approached by a homeless man who asked if I had any change. I only had two dimes, but I gave it to him anyway. As I watched him walk away, he put the dimes in an expired parking meter of a strangers car. MMT

Today, after spending the last 3 years viciously bickering with the college kid who lives next door, I found myself crying in his arms and thanking him repeatedly for saving my son's life. MMT

Today, at the final home game of the season, the entire boys basketball team at our high school entered the gymnasium in pairs of two holding hands. They did so in protest of the fact that two gay students had been sent to detention for a week for simply holding hands in the school’s hallways. MMT

Today, I saw a pretty scary looking guy who had a tall blue mohawk and tattoos and piercings all over his body. He was helping my elderly neighbor take her trash down to the curb. My neighbor told me afterwards that the guy was just walking by and offered to help. MMT

Today, my grandfather used 25 different coupons at the grocery store. Then he gave the money he saved to the bag boy as a tip. He does this almost every Sunday because he says he “likes to see people smile.” MMT

-S.