One Good Deed Deserves Another

It's another cold, snowy and downright miserable day in Newcastle, and I've just finished a double shift. My job is nowhere near taxing, and I keep it to ensure my dreams of a fashionable future in the Big City become a reality. I'm stood outside Central Station waiting for my snail of a flatmate to crawl from her single shift so we can walk home. We walk so as to add to the growing funds, as £2 a day on public transport just cannot be justified when there is rent to pay and Mulberry bags to buy.

A taxi pulls up over the pedestrian crossing (of course) and an elderly lady steps out. Two other OAPs (I say that with love) follow her, and it is clear they have learning difficulties. The taxi driver gets their cases out of the car, and puts them on the roadside. Just when I think my faith is about to be re-installed in public services, he hastily drives away, leaving the elderly lady to struggle with three cases and two bags.

Now, I like to think of myself as a kind individual, one who would put others before herself. But I'll be honest. It isn't attractive to me to drag my own suitcase through the sludge and snow into an equally as cold train station, never mind somebody else's. That said, I am also smart enough to know that whilst helping another human being isn't always easy, it is always worth it.

So I walk over and offer my services to the lady, who is, unfortunately, totally taken aback by my offer, and gratefully takes me up on it. So, I help her and her family through the station, and ensure they are on the right platform, comfortable and settled. I learn that they have just got back from Spain after being delayed 24 hours due to the weather. Once done, she gives me a hug, a rare thing from strangers which I always thought was a shame, and sends me on my way.

The moral of this story? Always help! It took me five minutes to make one persons life just that little bit easier, and as cliched as it may be, it took nothing. And it was all worth it, as the next day at my triple shift (yes, I did say triple, Mulberry have raised their prices this season) a bag of wine gums inexplicably split (trust me, this never happens) just as I had a craving, so I was able to enjoy them guilt-free knowing the universe was giving me a pat on the back for my efforts. Karma is my friend.

So help another human being today, and you may just get your own wine gum experience.