T minus five days: a small slice of life

The view of the setup of Sunday's big show

Tonight, as I was in between trains, I took a small break to refill the wallet and grab a small snack to stop a minor blood sugar crash. I finished off the snack, tossed the wrapper and turned to walk back down into the subway stop. In front of me stood a young woman who was talking to someone on her cel. She faced the same direction I was and, in front of her, was an elderly couple. The man was well dressed and holding a cane in one hand.

To the man's right was a woman about the same age who also had a cane in her free hand. The woman was struggling to walk down the stairs with an obvious case of gout.

The young woman was well into her cel phone conversation and may have been grateful for the break in forward motion to focus on that conversation. The young woman served as a barrier to anyone wanting to pass to the old man's left side. I picked up on what was going on and positioned myself a few steps above the old woman. For those rushing down the stairs eager to catch the next train out of downtown LA, they easily breezed by to my left, easily missing the old woman and her cane so she could slowly ease down into the subway station.

I took my time taking out a tissue to combat allergies while being paused ten steps from the platform entrance. I watched all three of them as the old woman, getting more wobbly and arched as she descended those final few steps.

I took a second to smile, silently offering praise that she successfully made it down the stairway, then praying that she and her companion would continue their journey safely.

Were the woman on the cel and I on the MP3 player temporary guardian angels or just subconsciously following the teachings of our parents to help someone without making them feel invalid? Someone else can rule on that. I write this simply in gratitude for the ability to do with relative ease that which someone else does with great struggle and a healthy dose of fear.

Please take a few moments in the days to come to be a "guardian angel" to someone without their knowledge-- for purely selfish reasons!

A view of red carpet underneath clear plastic with security and tourists scattered about. Just because it's my blog and why not post a picture of this?