"What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family." - Mother Teresa
My act of peace today concerned napkins, and my perhaps obsessive need for napkins when I am eating. I cannot relax and enjoy a good meal if I have nowhere to wipe my hands, especially if I am consuming pizza or sandwiches.
I was at Jimmy John’s. An elderly couple with their 10-year-old grandson were in line ahead of me ordering sandwiches. I could only guess at the boy’s age. What I did know is that he was walking around the restaurant with a jacket pulled over his head, wandering, oblivious to the world. Those of you with sons (and perhaps you’ve seen this in your daughters) KNOW what I am talking about. The grandparents sat down at a table, their order was called, and the grandson did as he was told; picked up the sandwiches, and took them to the table.
Soon, Grandma started doing what I would have done: looking around the room for some napkins. The kid sure hadn’t asked for them. And if she asked him to go get some, he would have taken his sweet time, and brought back exactly one.
So, as an act of kindness to this poor woman with the messy fingers, I grabbed a stack of napkins and took them to her table. I just smiled, and she smiled; she knew that I had experience in the “I just gotta have a napkin” department. And plenty of experience with lovable, albeit sometimes knuckle-headed, boys.
A simple act of kindness while waiting for my #6 Sandwich; I think it was just the peace they needed at tonight’s dinner table.