Of course I am crazy about my husband, son, and stepsons, but I want to comment on some young men who I didn't know, but who impressed me this week.
Last Monday I drove my car to the Bike to Work Week breakfast (so sue me; it was raining buckets), and when I started to parallel park, a young guy in the space beside me honked at me. I wondered what I had done wrong, but he yelled to me that there were forty minutes left on his meter and to take his spot when he pulled out...nice!
Then a couple days later, when I was biking to my volunteer gig at Odyssey Youth Center, I pulled over to see if I could decipher a rattle coming from my bike. A young man on a motorcycle rode by, pulled a U-turn, and came back to see if I was okay. There was nothing he could do, but his concern was such a nice gesture.
Finally, this week Steve had some heavy yard work to be done, and he hired a twenty year old who was going door to door looking for work to save money to start school in the fall. He spent the weekend digging holes with Steve, and between the two of them have begun to transform our backyard. No handouts for this guy; he is doing all he can to make his dreams for the future come true.
When I hear people of my generation complaining about those in their twenties, I always tell them about my amazing kids and students, but the young men I met this week demonstrate what I believe: we have many great youth in this town. We must trust them, smile at them and be kind to them. Keeping them in Spokane is a gift to us all.
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So true! One of the things I love about having my office at the Odyssey Youth Center building is interacting with the youth here. They've been so helpful helping me move things in and out of my office/apartment over the last few weeks. Youth are a gift we forget to appreciate too often. Thanks for highlighting your great experiences.
ReplyDeleteKelly Lerner, One World Design Architecture
I had a similar instance today. I was coming out of LC carrying two milk crates full of Roasthouse Coffee gear we had used for our concession stand at the drama performances. A young man coming up the steps asked if he could help me and I said, "No, I'm okay--it's not far."
ReplyDeleteThen a cascade of paper cups broke free and hit the stairs. I said, "OK, now I could use some help."
He picked up all the cups and carried one of the crates to my car across the street. I asked if he knew my daughter who attends LC; he didn't because he's a Skills Center student.
What a nice young man. I get offered help pretty often by people who look to be high school or college age. Either I look old, decrepit and in need of help (pretty sure the answer is NO, at least for now), or we have a pretty cool generation coming up. I'm confident it's the latter.