Hatrack River Forum: The kindness of strangers

This is topic The kindness of strangers in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=019888

Posted by LadyDove (Member # 3000) on :

I read this today and it somehow seemed appropriate to the community that is Hatrack:

******************************************************************************

The old phone

>
> When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in
> our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the
> wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to
> reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother
> talked to it.
>
> Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an
> amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing
> she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the
> correct time. My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came
> one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.
> Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger
> with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in
> crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.
>
> I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving
> at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in
> the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the
>
> receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information, please" I
> said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small
> clear voice spoke into my ear.
>
> "Information."
>
> "My name is John and I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the
> tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
>
> "Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
> "Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.
> "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.
> "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
> "Can you open the icebox?" she asked. I said I could.
> "Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the
> voice.
>
> After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.
> I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where
> Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet
> chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat
> fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I
> called Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and
> then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled.
> I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring
> joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom
> of a cage?"
>
> She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "John,
> always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt
> better.
> Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."
> "Information," said in the now familiar voice.
> "How do I spell fix?" I asked.
> All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
>
> When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I
> missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old
> wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny
> new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens,
the
> memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often,
> in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of
> security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and
> kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
>
> A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in
> Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15
> minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then
> without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and
> said, "Information Please."
> Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.
> "Information."
> I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please
> tell me how to spell fix?"
>
> There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your
> finger must have healed by now."
> I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any
> idea how much you meant to me during that time?"
> I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me. I
> never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."
> I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if
>
> I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
>
> "Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."
> Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered,
> "Information." I asked for Sally.
> "Are you a friend?" she said.
> "Yes, my name is John and I am a very old friend," I answered.
> "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been
> working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died
> five weeks ago."
>
> Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name
> was John?"
> "Yes." I answered.
> "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you
> called.
>
> Let me read it to you." The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds
> to sing in. He'll know what I mean."
>
> I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

> Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

[ November 25, 2003, 07:09 PM: Message edited by: LadyDove ]

Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :

That's such a sweet story! [Cry]

Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :

I think I've read that story before... It's very sweet.

Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :

That's neat. But, you know, I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers.

Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :

Oh my gosh, that was so sweet I'm almost crying right now. (I would cry, but there are people here)

Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :

That one makes me cry every time. *raises a glass* To all the "Sally"s, in this world and elsewhere.

Thanks, Lady Dove. [Smile]

Posted by Danzig (Member # 4704) on :

Snopes.

Posted by Maethoriell (Member # 3805) on :

Awww *tears*

Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :

How sweet... that nearly made me cry.

Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :

awwww. That's such a sweet story!

Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :

I love this story. It does seem appropriate. Hatrack is definitely my "Information, Please." The best thing is, it totally works! Someone always knows!

Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :

That *did* make me cry. That's beautiful.

Posted by Black Mage (Member # 5800) on :

That was in Chicken Soup for the Soul, I think.

The only book that could make me cry.